Wednesday, 28 November 2007, 14:59 GMT
Man, 74, saved from arson attack

A 74-year-old man was saved by passing firemen after his mobility scooter was set alight and the flames spread to the rest of his Black Country house.

Fire crews noticed the blaze at the house in Walton Road, Wednesbury, on Tuesday night after being sent out to deal with another fire nearby.

The man was taken to Sandwell Hospital, in West Bromwich, to be treated for the effects of breathing in smoke.

West Midlands Police said they were treating the blaze as suspicious.

The man's mobility scooter had been kept outside the house.

A spokesman for the West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "The 74-year-old man in the house told the crew that he heard a bang, went to investigate and found his kitchen ablaze.

"There is absolutely no doubt that the situation could have been very much more serious had the fire crews not spotted the blaze and the man not been rescued from the heavily smoke-logged house."