A man trapped himself in a smoke-logged flat after trying to push a burning sofa bed through his front door.

When the sofa would not fit, the man was left with no escape route and had to be rescued by firefighters.

A discarded cigarette caused the sofa to catch fire at about 6.45pm yesterday.

The man used a portable fire extinguisher in an attempt to put out the blaze but when the sofa continued to burn he tried to push it into the hallway of his first-floor flat in Horsham Road, Littlehampton.

The man, who had been alerted to the fire by a smoke alarm, was found slumped on the floor by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics for minor burns and the affects of smoke inhalation.

Three occupants from neighbouring flats were evacuated as a precaution, but no one was injured and the fire was out by 7pm.

Station Officer Trevor Worsfold said: "The man tried to tackle the fire himself by dragging the sofa into the hallway. In doing so he became stuck in the flat, which became heavily smoke logged."

He said without a smoke alarm the outcome could have been very different.