30868-26A SWINDON man is in a critical condition after being rescued from his burning flat.

Neighbours told how they tried to reach the man, who they identified as John Clarke, after they saw smoke billowing out of his ground floor flat, in Manchester Road.

But they were beaten back by the dense smoke and intense heat.

Firefighters were able to enter the flat and pull Mr Clarke, believed to be in his 50s, to safety.

He was taken to the Great Western Hospital where he is in a critical but stable condition.

Neighbour Terry McCullock, 51, who lives in a flat above him, said he found the incident very shocking.

He said: "My other neighbour called me downstairs for something and that's when I saw the smoke coming from under the door.

"I opened the door but couldn't see anything because the room was dense with smoke.

"I could hear coughing coming from inside so I knew John wasn't dead, but I couldn't get inside."

Dawn Edmonds, 62, was visiting Mr McCullock at the time.

She said: "We were in the flat above the fire having a cup of tea at the time.

"It's so frightening to think what might have happened."

Fire crews from Swin-don, Stratton and Westlea attended the fire at about 12.30pm yesterday.

Sub-officer Paul Jarmey, of Wiltshire Fire Brigade, said: "We were told that someone was in the flat and arrived at the scene within two minutes of receiving the call.

"It had the potential of being very dangerous.

"The guys who first went in had to very carefully crack open the door and spray the air with water to cool down the atmosphere."

Bystander Christopher Shepherd, 58, of nearby Rosebery Street, said he had smelt the smoke from his garden.

"I heard the fire engines and came to see what was going on. They seemed to get the man out okay.

"There's been quite a lot of things going on round here in the last few months."

Insp David McMullin, of Swindon police, said: "We are liasing with the fire service to investigate the cause of the fire as is standard procedure."

The fire broke out in the flats next door to the squat where 16-year-old High-worth girl Kate Walsh died of a suspected drugs over-dose in January.

Alex Emery