Firefighters saved the life of a woman after finding her unconscious and slumped behind the door of a blazing and smoke-filled flat in Telford yesterday.

Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus managed to force their way into the flat in The Old Vicarage in Priorslee Road, Snedshill, and carry the woman to safety in the drama, as fire wrecked to ground floor.

Once clear of the flames and smoke the rescuers, firefighters Kevin Williams and Tony Rhodes, passed the woman onto their colleague, Gareth Walker, who gave the woman oxygen and emergency resuscitation treatment.

The woman, who was in her 50s but has not been named, soon came round and was taken to the Princess Royal Hospital, Telford, for treatment for the effects of breathing in smoke.

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The Old Vicarage houses seven flats and is owned and managed by Telford & Wrekin Council to offer temporary accommodation to homeless people.

The affected flat on the ground floor was wrecked in the blaze, the hall and communal rooms such as the bathroom and laundry were also damaged and the rest of the large, detached house was left filled with smoke.

Fire crews from Telford and Wellington were called to the scene at around 2.20pm when alarms activated in The Old Vicarage.

Sub-Officer Paul Plant of Telford fire station said: “On arrival, we saw smoke coming from the ground floor at the rear of the house and the first step was to make sure everyone was safe but I was told that someone was inside the burning flat.

“Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and with hoses forced their way inside and found a woman slumped unconscious just behind the door. They got the woman out and she was given oxygen and resuscitation treatment outside. She had taken in a lot of smoke.

“It was a severe fire but fortunately the alarms did their job, we got early warning and it was a team effort by all the firefighters to save the woman.”

Mr Plant said only one other person was believed to have been in the building at the time of the fire and they escaped unharmed.

Mr Plant said the cause of the blaze was still under investigation, but it was not believed to be suspicious.