A 53-year-old man suffered breathing difficulties after a fire broke out in his home in Telford.Firefighters were alerted to the blaze in Crown Street, Dawley, after the man dialled 999 on his mobile phone yesterday.

But during the call, the man started coughing and was unable to respond to the operator, who called on BT to locate the scene of the fire.

Rescue pumps from Tweedale and Telford Central fire stations were sent at about 4.50pm, as well as an incident commander from Shrewsbury.

A spokeswoman for Shropshire Fire and Rescue, said: “The call was received from a mobile phone, but the caller was non-responsive to the fire service operator. The person could be heard coughing in the background and the fire alarm was operating.

“The fire service attempted to trace the caller’s location using mobile phone eastings and northings provided by a BT operator.”

Firefighters used breathing apparatus and one hose reel jet to tackle the fire in the living room.

The fire was out by 5.15pm but the crew remained on site to ventilate the property.

West Midlands Ambulance spokesman Murray MacGregor said a 53-year-old man was treated at the scene after experiencing breathing difficulties. The patient declined hospital treatment.