TWO people were rescued from a first-floor bedroom window by firefighters after a blaze broke out in an historic Salisbury public house in the early hours of Wednesday morning last week.

The interior of the Three Crowns, in Town Path, Harnham, was a blackened mess following the fierce blaze - but for chef Annie Kemp and her partner, Alex Collins, it could have been far worse.

As firefighters arrived from Salisbury and Wilton, they saw the pair at the bedroom window, unable to escape because of the dense smoke.

Firefighters quickly ran up ladders, got into the bedroom and then helped Annie and Alex to safety.

They were treated by paramedics before being taken to Salisbury District Hospital for a check up.

The Three Crowns, which dates back to the 16th Century, had only been acquired a few weeks earlier by new owner David Piper, who was in the process of redecorating and upgrading the pub.

The pub had remained open during most of the work and, on Tuesday night, barman Jamie Walters had locked up and gone to visit friends, leaving Annie and Alex in the pub.

They had just gone to bed when Alex was alerted by the smell of smoke.

Opening the bedroom door, he was faced with a wall of dense smoke.

He shut the door and while Annie placed a blanket at the foot of the door, he rang the fire brigade.

Twenty firefighters with four appliances from Salisbury and Wilton fire stations arrived just before 12.30am and used breathing apparatus to enter the pub, where they were able to extinguish the fire.

As some firefighters rescued Annie and Alex, others searched the rest of the building but no one else was inside.

A fire brigade spokesman said the fire started in the bar area, inside a beer cooler.

"The occupiers were lucky to escape with their lives, which was due to the fact that they had only recently retired to bed and they were alerted by the smell of smoke and able to raise the alarm."

Mr Piper had planned a reopening night on November 20, to mark the completion of the refurbishment, but because of the fire this has had to be put on hold.

Dozens of bookings received for the restaurant have had to be cancelled and, while it is too early to say how long work will take to restore the interior, Mr Piper intends to carry out full repairs and renovation and reopen as soon as possible.