Smoker nods off with lit cigarette

A MAN is "extremely lucky" to be alive after falling asleep with a lit cigarette this morning.

Fire crews were called to an upstairs flat in Kenyon Lane where it is believed the 63-year-old was sleeping through a smoke alarm.

Two fire engines attended the property at around 4am following a call from neighbours.

The man has pledged to quit smoking as a result of the incident. Firefighter David German said: "We were called to Kenyon Lane this morning where a person had fallen asleep with a cigarette.

"The main damage was done to covers and the foam part of the settee where the man had been.

"He was extremely lucky." The man declined hospital treatment but was given oxygen at the scene.