A MAN was rescued from a flat fire in Bournemouth in the early hours of this morning.

The man was taken to hospital for checks following the incident in Chestnut Avenue in Southbourne.

The fire was reported to the fire service at 2.12am and started in the kitchen of a top floor flat.

Fire crews from Springbourne and Christchurch attended along with the aerial ladder platform from Westbourne.

A Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were called to Chestnut Avenue, Bournemouth at 2.12am this morning for a fire in a top floor flat.

“Crews attended from Springbourne and Christchurch (x2), plus the aerial ladder platform from Westbourne.

“Two breathing apparatus wearers used one hose reel jet to extinguish the fire, and one male occupant was rescued from the property and taken to hospital for checks.

"The stop was at 2.59am.”

The spokesperson said the flat is believed to have been badly damaged following the incident.

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said: “We were called at 02.33hrs to an incident in Southbourne.

"We sent two double-crewed land ambulances and an operations officer. We conveyed one patient to Bournemouth Royal Hospital.”