A MAN dragged his daughter from their smoke-filled Torquay home after fire broke out when he fell asleep while smoking.

The alarm was raised at 3am yesterday when the man woke to find his bed on fire and smoke filling the first floor bedroom of the house in Nightingale Close.

His daughter was asleep in another upstairs bedroom.

He dashed across to her before fleeing the property and calling 999 from his mobile phone.

Fire chiefs have now warned of the dangers of smoking in bed late at night.

Two fire crews from Torquay went to the scene.

Torquay Green Watch Commander Martin Causey said: "He did exactly the right thing by shouting to his daughter right away, and making sure both of them got out of the house and shutting the door on the fire ensuring both of them got out."

Firefighters wore sets of breathing gear inside the house and water from a hose reel was used to extinguish the blaze.

Cmdr Causey said the man had been 'very apologetic and very grateful for the help'.

He added: "This highlights the dangers of smoking in bed late at night, and especially the life-saving importance of people having a working smoke detector in their home."

For a free home fire safety visit, which could include the fitting of free smoke detectors, call either Torquay fire station on 01803 653700 or 0800 7311822.