Officer drags 'heart-attack victim' from burning flat

A man was fighting for his life today after being rescued from his burning flat by an off-duty policeman.

The resident was dragged from his ninth-floor property in a Wandsworth tower block after the officer, who also lives there, spotted smoke at 12.50am, looked through the window and saw the victim unconscious on the floor.

He broke in and pulled the man outside where he tried to resuscitate him until an ambulance arrived.

More than 50 firefighters went to Andrew Reed House in Linstead Way, where they used ladders to rescue nine people from flats above the fire.

In all 150 residents were evacuated and were taken to the nearby Open Door Centre but were allowed back into their homes before dawn. The man rescued by the police officer is believed to have suffered a heart attack. He is thought to be in his forties.

A council spokesman said the building's design stopped the fire spreading, adding: "There is a lot of smoke damage but only the flat involved and the one above are uninhabitable."

Fire investigators were examining the gutted flat.