NIGHT shift worker Eric Thorpe was saved by a smoke alarm when a fire broke out in a takeaway beneath his flat in Railway Street, Nelson.

The fire and rescue service was called to Captain Cook's when an officer at the nearby police station smelled smoke and then saw the fire when he looked out of a back window.

Sub Officer Tim Simpson, said: "An electrical fault started a fire which virtually gutted the takeaway kitchen.

"The flat above was filled with smoke and Mr Thorpe was saved by the smoke detector giving him early warning.

"He had been out working at night and was asleep until the alarm woke him shortly after 9am."