Basildon man escapes as paper hoard catches fire

An elderly man who hoarded tonnes of household goods, furniture and papers in his three-storey Essex town house managed to escape the premises after it went up in flames at the weekend.

It took more than 60 firefighters about five hours to put the fire out in Basildon. The owner was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

An investigation is under way to find out how the fire started.