Man breaks bones after leaping from a second floor balcony to escape a midnight blaze

Firefighters from Bradford, Morley and Mirfield attended the blaze in an three-floor apartment block in Brooklyn Road, Cleckheaton at 12.22am which had broken out on the top floor.

People were trapped by the flames and one man leapt about 20ft from a balcony to escape, suffering possible broken bones and other injuries.

He was taken by ambulance to hospital as crews used three hose reels and six sets of breathing apparatus to control the fire while they rescued other residents.

This morning, a severely burnt bed mattress could be seen on the floor outside the block of flats. Directly above, the doors to a top floor balcony remained wide open.

One woman who lived at a nearby block of flats said there had been "quite a dramatic" scene in the street.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, said: "The road was all blocked off and there were blue lights flashing. The whole street must have been awake.

"I hope the man will be okay. He must have been terrified to have jumped from that height."