A man was fighting for his life in hospital today after being badly burned while escaping from a fire at his Bradford flat.

The 37-year-old suffered severe burns to his head, face, arms, hands and shoulders during the blaze at Bowling Old Lane, Bradford.

He was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary and later transferred to the specialist burns unit at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, where his condition today was described as "critical".

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it is not believed to be suspicioius.

Two police officers on patrol raised the alarm after spotting smoke pouring through windows of the first floor flat. They ran to help and found the man - who has not been named - sitting outside, burned and in shock. He was in bed when fire broke out in the lounge area, at about 2.15am today, and was woken by smoke detectors.

Firefighters believe he was injured when a wall of flames flashed over the top half of his body as he opened the lounge door. Somehow he managed to escape.

The intense heat from the blaze shattered the windows and threatened to spread to an upstairs flat. Firefighters evacuated the upstairs property, leading two males and a female in their 30s to safety.

Odsal Station Officer Frank Hutchinson said: "The lounge area is completely gutted. The fire was well alight when we arrived and the flat's windows were on the grass having been blown out."

Inspector Steven Baker, of Odsal Police, said inquiries into the cause of the blaze were ongoing but added: "There is no indication at the moment that it was started deliberately."

He said officers were still trying to trace relatives of the 37-year-old man to inform them of his injuries.

Neighbour William Temple-man told the Telegraph & Argus today how he tried to help the injured man.

He said: "It happened around 2.20am. I had just got in and went to bed. I was dozing off and heard the alarm go and a very big bang.

"I saw my neighbour. His face was black and the top part of his body was burned and somebody had put a towel round his shoulders. I phoned 999 for an ambulance and they were on the scene very quickly.

"He is a quiet personality and kept himself to himself. He is a nice guy and very pleasant though I only knew him to say hello to."

e-mail: joanne.earp@bradford.newsquest. co.uk

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