A TERRIFIED tenant was trapped on the balcony of his smoke-logged flat after vandals set fire to rubbish, blocking the communal stairs.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus had to break down the front door and fight their way through dense black smoke to rescue 29-year-old Graham Dean.

He was taken to hospital, suffering from shock and smoke inhalation.

The blaze broke out in at 6am in Brereton Close, Castlefields, leaving him trapped in his first floor flat.

He ran out on to the balcony and screamed for help.

Fortunately, he managed to wake up his neighbours who called the fire brigade.

Firefighters condemned vandals for putting people's lives at risk.

Leading firefighter Ken Sharratt said: "We had to fight our way through fire, heat and smoke to get up the stairs and smash the front door to gain access. We had to ventilate the flat before we could bring the man through.

"Those stairways are a means of escape. When someone blocks them with anything, it poses an obstruction. It becomes a greater and life-threatening hazard when someone sets fire to it."

It is believed that the fire started when bags of rubbish left on the stairs were maliciously ignited. LHT manager Andy Barratt said a television, dumped outside a flat, had been set on fire.

He said LHT was working closely with tenants and residents to try and tackle various problems.

"It is mind boggling ignorance that someone can put lives at risk," said Andy Barratt.

"We are trying to encourage people to put rubbish in the correct place."

He said various initiatives, such as placing skips throughout the estate, had proved successful.

"I am just sorry that people have had to suffer in this way."

He said the last three fires in this area had been caused maliciously, by arsonists setting fire to rubbish.

"We are doing a lot of things on Castlefields to cut down on risk and vandalism,"said Mr Barratt. "We are improving lighting, putting out skips and cutting back hedgerows. Our tenants and residents are also giving us ideas.

"At the end of the day it is the minority of people who leave rubbish outside someone else's door."

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