A MAN in his seventies was rescued after he fell asleep with a lit cigarette.

Two fire crews, one from Southend and one from Leigh-on-Sea, attended the incident at a care home in Maple Square, Southend, after it was reported at 8.40am yesterday.

Upon arrival, the crews reported that one flat in the home was heavily smoke logged, with the elderly resident still inside.

Firefighters were able to lead the man to safety and had extinguished the blaze by 9.14am.

Using specialist positive pressure ventilation fans, the fire crews were then tasked with clearing the property of dense smoke.

The man was cared for by the ambulance service after suffering from smoke inhalation.

See more: Huge fire on Westcliff seafront

A spokesman for Essex Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was started by a lit cigarette, which ignited a bedside unit after the man fell asleep.

The service has reiterated its advice to people who smoke in the home in the wake of the incident.

They said:

- Never smoke in bed - if you need to lie down, don’t light up. You could doze off and set your bed on fire.

- Make sure your all cigarettes are fully extinguished.

- Take extra care when you’re tired, taking any sort of drugs or have been drinking alcohol. It’s very easy to fall asleep while your cigarette is still burning.

- Never leave lit cigarettes unattended - they can easily overbalance as they burn down.

- Use a proper, heavy ashtray that can’t tip over easily and is made of a material that won’t burn. Make sure your cigarette is fully extinguished.

- Tap your ash into an ashtray, never a wastebasket containing other rubbish – and don’t let the ash or cigarette ends build up in the ashtray.

- Use child safe matches and cigarette lighters and keep them safely out of the reach of children.

- Fit and maintain a smoke alarm - a working smoke alarm can buy you valuable time to get out, stay out and call 999.