Stockbridge fire pensioner in hospital

AN 81-year-old man was taken to hospital suffering from the effects of smoke after a fire in Stockbridge today.

The blaze broke out in the hallway of a ground-floor tenement flat in Clarence Street shortly after 4am. The man was wakened by the smell of smoke and dialled 999 after finding he could not get out of the flat.

Four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus rescued him. He was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.