A man was rescued by firefighters after falling asleep and leaving food cooking in a pan on his stove.

Fire crews were called to College Road, Southwater, near Horsham, at about 11.30pm last night, and found a ground-floor flat filled with smoke.

Crews from Horsham and Partridge Green forced their way into the flat, where the man was sleeping on a sofa.

They roused him and led him to safety. He did not need hospital treatment.

The smoke alarms in the flat had been switched off because they had often been triggered by cooking fumes from the kitchen.

Station Officer Dave Dickson of Horsham fire brigade said: "This man was very lucky to escape.

"Eighty per cent of fire fatalities are caused by there being no smoke alarm.

"If people are experiencing problems with the location of their alarm, then they should reposition it rather than turning it off."