AN 80-year-old man was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and burns after being pulled from his blazing Eastleigh home by firefighters.

The blaze broke out in a bungalow in Monks Brook Close shortly after 5pm yesterday. When Eastleigh firefighters arrived, the pensioner was spotted inside, trying to fight the fire.

"When we turned into the road we could see the smoke and neighbours were pointing and waving at us," said a fire service spokesman.

"As we looked in we could see an elderly gentleman knelt down with a garden hose trying to put the fire out. He had taken a lot of smoke in the face and we suggested he should get out.

"He said he was OK but we physically removed him. He was very black in the face and covered in white powder from an extinguisher he had used."

The man was taken to hospital, suffering from smoke inhalation and skin burns. Firefighters said the blaze appeared to have been caused by an electrical fault in a stereo system.

Because the bungalow was fitted with a smoke detector, the man knew about the fire at an early stage and the blaze was restricted to one room.

It is believed that the pensioner asked a neighbour to raise the alarm.

Firefighters, using breathing sets and one hose reel, were able to deal with the incident in around 20 minutes.