The blaze at Westfield CloseTWO people had a lucky escape on Sunday when a burning mattress left them trapped in their homes.

The fire brigade were called in at 11pm when a mattress left at the bottom of the shared staircase in the three-storey block, at Westfield Close, Trowbridge, caught fire, trapping one resident on the first floor and another on the second.

Both were later able to leave the building by the staircase once the fire was extinguished and five other people escaped from ground floor windows before the fire brigade arrived.

Station Officer Graham Davies, from Trowbridge, said: "This incident highlighted the dangers of storing combustible materials in staircases serving flats.

"These areas must be kept free from fire risks to ensure that occupants of flats can escape safely in the event of a fire."

The fire was discovered by the man trapped on the second floor when he opened his door and smelt smoke, which activated a smoke alarm.

He called the fire brigade and an operator remained on the line, giving advice, until firefighters arrived at the scene.

The fire was out within an hour and no-one was hurt, although there was damage to the ground floor of the building.

The flats are owned by West Wiltshire Housing Society, who will be carrying out safety checks and monitoring to ensure combustible materials are not stored in stairwells at any of their premises.

Investigations into the case of the fire are continuing but it is not thought to be suspicious.