Six people had to be rescued from a block of flats after a fire started by workmen laying down lino.

The blaze is believed to have started in a block of flats in Springfield Road in Crawley at just after 10.45am this morning when glue used to lay down lino near a electricity box caused a flashover explosion in a ground floor corridor area.

Two residents managed to escape the building through a ground floor window with the help of passers-by before firefighters arrived on scene.

Crews then rescued three people from a back exit and one disabled woman through a ground floor window before restricting the blaze to the corridor area in an operation lasting an hour.

The six people rescued were treated for smoke inhalation by paramedics at the scene but no one required hospital treatment.