AN UNCONSCIOUS man had to be rescued from a fire caused by a burning pizza he had left unattended after a night out.

The man put his late night snack in his oven but then fell asleep at his Hampshire home in the early hours.

Smoke from the burning oven initially went undetected as the batteries had been taken out of the downstairs smoke alarm.

Fortunately the upstairs alarm eventually activated and a neighbour was able to raise the alarm.

The man was carried unconscious from the house and was treated for smoke inhalation, but did not require hospital treatment.

Following the incident, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is warning of the dangers of not maintaining a smoke alarm and cooking after a night out, especially if alcohol has been involved.

It comes as the Fire Brigades’ Union prepare to strike again this weekend.

Station manager Glenn Bowyer, from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service's community safety team, said: “Cooking after a night out, especially if alcohol has been involved, is usually a bad idea.

“You're far more likely to fall asleep, leaving the the cooking to burn.

“In this incident, the problem was compounded by the fact the batteries had been removed from the smoke alarm downstairs.

“This is clearly a very dangerous thing to do and in this case the presence of a second smoke alarm upstairs proved to be a potential lifesaver.”The incident happened on Saturday.

Mr Bowyer said the incident in Andover perfectly illustrated why the service is encouraging people to take extra care during the strikes to prevent unnecessary emergencies.

He added: “This incident tied up two crews from Andover for well over an hour and could clearly have been avoided.

“This weekend, we would urge people to think twice about cooking after a night out and to check their smoke alarms well in advance to ensure they are working.”