A living room fire in a fourth floor flat at the Metropole, on Penrhyn Road, resulted in the occupant, a 65 year old man, being taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

Russ McGrath, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service's incident commander, said: "We have had a small bedroom fire caused by smoking materials. There is a minimal amount of fire damage but there is quite a bit of smoke damage and everyone was evacuated safely from the building.

"This highlights the dangers of smoking materials and how they can cause a fire and endanger other people.

"The fact that the smoke detector did activate is really good in that everyone was able to be evacuated safely. Smoke detectors do save lives."

Three fire crews from Colwyn Bay and Llandudno were called to the flats last Thursday (May 8) at 10.48am and used one hose reel and two sets of breathing apparatus while extinguishing the fire.

Crowds gathered outside the flats, owned by North Wales Housing Association, which house 38 residents all aged over 55.

Resident Roy Evans said: "The police told us to get out because of a fire so we all came out. I couldn't see the fire but I could smell it. We have had people burn toast a couple of times before but I have never seen anything like this."