A fire chief has warned Bradford Council that a possible design fault at a block of flats could have caused a fierce blaze which trapped a man inside.

The roof of a bin shelter outside the flats in Wenborough Lane, Holme Wood, Bradford, burned fiercely after arsonists set a bin inside it ablaze.

Kevin Dixon, 41, had to be rescued from his first floor flat by Council workmen Tim Robinson and Ken Cooper who used a ladder to reach him after the fire spread to the building's entrance trapping him inside.

Now, Odsal Fire Station Commander Allan Jones has contacted the Council with his concerns about the roofing material used in the bin shelters which are outside about 150 flats on the Holme Wood estate.

Mr Jones said the bins, which are next to the buildings' only entrance, were prone to attack from arsonists.

"The roof is made of fibreglass or some kind of plastic which burns quickly - this can rapidly block the exit from the flat," he said.

"We cannot dictate to the Council how to build their flats but I have passed this concern to them."

Today, a Bradford Council housing spokesman said: "We are working in conjunction with the fire service and have asked for a full report on this fire. We will be looking closely at the specifications for this type of canopy to see if they need to be updated."

The flats were built in the mid-1970s with wooden porches. These were replaced with glass reinforced plastic porches and canopies as part of the multi-million pound regeneration scheme in the early 1990s.

A Council spokesman said: "The material is a well-used and reputable product and we would of course never use anything which did not meet recognised safety standards."

Mr Jones also revealed the smoke detector in Mr Dixon's flat was not working which could have cost him his life.

"If this fire had occurred at night when the workmen were not there and Mr Dixon was asleep, he could have easily died."

He advised people to check their alarms regularly and never remove the batteries.

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