A WINCHESTER pensioner is today fighting for his life after he was rescued from a smoke-filled flat by firefighters.

Henry Thornton, 77, suffered severe smoke inhalation and was today in intensive care at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital.

Firefighters had to smash down the front door of his flat and battle through thick smoke to find Mr Thornton slumped on the floor.

They dragged him out and gave vital first aid before an ambulance arrived.

The rescue happened after neighbours saw smoke coming from the flat in General Johnson Court, Waynflete Place, Stanmore, at about 7pm.

Leading firefighter Ian Wadmore said today: "Lots of neighbours were outside trying to kick down the door. We broke it down and went in and dragged the poor chap out. He was half in and half out the store cupboard. It looked as if he had got disorientated.

"He is very, very lucky to be alive. I went in and the visibility was nil. It took us a couple of minutes to find him. Judging by the damage to the lounge, the fire had been burning for some time."

The cause of the blaze was today unclear and was being investigated. There was a smoke detector in the flat but it melted in the fire and so the fire service do now know if it was activated. The heat was so intense that a smoke detector in the corridor had also melted.

Mr Thornton lived on his own and is a former soldier who served in the Aden conflict in the mid-1960s.