A man escaped a fire in a block of flats by swinging from a fourth-floor balcony.

An onlooker said the scene was like something from a film. Police are now investigating whether the fire was started deliberately.

Firefighters were called at 7.21am yesterday to the blaze on the fourth floor of the block Ashton House in Croscombe Walk, Little Horton, Bradford.

One witness, who was woken by the sirens, said: “We saw a man screaming, dangling from his balcony. He climbed all the way down four balconies. He was screaming all the way down.

“Flames were coming out of the windows. It was getting worse and worse.”

She said the man was lowering himself from each balcony in turn before swinging into the balcony below.

When he got to the first floor balcony, his screams alerted firefighters who used a ladder to reach him, she said.

Another witness, Maxine Eyre, who lives in a nearby block, said: “I could see flames coming out of the verandah, flames coming out of the side living room window, and people shouting to get everybody out of the block, especially those above them.”

Firefighters said the blaze had set off an alarm which alerted the emergency services.

Crew Commander Gavin Wightman, of Bradford Fire Station, said when crews arrived at the scene the fourth floor flat was well alight and smoke was coming out onto the balcony.

He said: “The front door was locked and we had to force entry by breaking it down. There was a lot of smoke and it was very hot inside the flat and significant fire damage was caused. Once we got inside the fire was very quickly extinguished.”

One man was taken to the Bradford Royal Infirmary with smoke inhalation and flash burns. He was later discharged.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “Police are working with fire investigators to establish the nature of the incident. A man has been arrested in connection with the incident.”