NEIGHBOURS watched in horror as a house went up in flames.

The blaze happened in Hodshrove Road, Moulsecoomb, Brighton, on Wednesday, leaving nearby residents anxious and scared.

Tammy Lodge, who lives opposite the house, originally thought it was her own home on fire.

She said: “My husband told me there was a fire and I panicked.

“I thought he meant in our house but then he said it was over the road.

“It was just all smoke, we couldn’t see the flames.

“I heard the glass smashing from the heat of the fire. It was so loud it sounded like someone was throwing things at the glass.”

Mrs Lodge called the emergency services at about 5.10pm.

She said the tenants of the burnt house were a man and a woman who also had a pet dog.

The fire started in a bedroom and other residents told The Argus that the upper floor of the house was completely burnt through.

Watching the drama unfold from her home, Mrs Lodge saw a man go back in to the burning house.

Her husband, Ian, sprang in to action and rescued the man when he saw him go in.

“Ian just said, ‘what is he doing?’ and went in after him,” said Mrs Lodge.

“Luckily he didn’t get too far in so my husband was able to save him.

“He didn’t say why he was going back into the house.”

Three fire engines were called to put out the fire and both the man and woman had to receive medical treatment.

Mrs Lodge said she heard the woman say her leg was in pain, but did not know why.

The woman was treated in an ambulance for more than an hour.

Another resident, who did not want to be named, told The Argus that the man had been arrested after he was treated by paramedics.

The resident also said another neighbour was looking after the tenants’ dog while they were away from the house.

He said: “I started seeing smoke coming out of the house and the woman was trapped in the back bedroom.

“It was a big fire but there were no flames.

“There was just so much smoke all over the place.”

Police said the cause of the fire was accidental.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: “A man was arrested on suspicion of assault on a woman known to him following a fire in a house in Hodshrove Road, Moulescoomb, at 5.15pm on Wednesday.

“A man and a woman escaped from the house and called the fire brigade.

“The woman suffered minor burns to her legs and was taken to hospital before being released.”

The man was released without charge yesterday.