Dozens of OAPs pulled from blaze

TWO dozen elderly residents had to be rescued by firefighters after an electrical fault in a toaster sparked a blaze at a sheltered housing complex in West Lothian.

Twenty firefighters rushed to Ochilview Court in Armadale, Bathgate, at 8.40pm last night to find smoke spreading through the complex.

Four firefighters entered the building and led 24 residents to safety.

A spokesman for the fire service said the flat where the blaze originated was completely destroyed, while other neighbouring flats had been severely smoke-logged, but that no-one needed to attend hospital.

The blaze followed an unrelated flat fire in Whitburn, where a wheelie bin appeared to be deliberately set alight at the main entrance, the fire service said.

Firefighters were called to the first-floor flat in West Main Street before 2.30am on Sunday morning after the occupant returned to their home to find it on fire. One person was treated at the scene "as a precautionary measure", but did not require hospital treatment.

Crews were also called to a fire at a semi-detached house in Langton Terrace in East Calder around 20 minutes later, however no-one was injured.