A PERSON had to be rescued through the window of a burning house in Widegates this afternoon.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service says that at 2.13pm Fire Control received a 999 call from a person trapped in a house fire. Three appliances were mobilised from Liskeard and Saltash within 49 seconds of BT putting the call through. Officers from Liskeard and Bodmin were also mobilised to the incident.

As the person was trapped inside the property, a Firefighter (Control) remained on the line talking to the house occupant to provide fire survival guidance until the arrival of fire crews.

However, in the event the occupant was rescued by a neighbour through an exterior window by ladder approximately two minutes before the arrival of the first appliance from Liskeard.

The person who had been trapped in the house was taken to Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, due to smoke inhalation but according to a local source the neighbour who undertook the rescue did not need to go to hospital, despite news reports to the contrary elsewhere.

An update at 3pm stated that four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus had conducted a thorough search of the property and had confirmed all persons were now accounted for. The fire has was confirmed as having been extinguished and the cause will be subject to a fire service investigation.