A man suffered burns to his arms, hands and face trying to put out a fire in his roof.

Firefighters from Norbury fire station were called to Biggin Way, Upper Norwood, at about 11.15pm yesterday evening.

On arrival the crews were greeted by a 37-year-old man who was the owner of the property.

Firefighters treated him for "bad burns" at the scene before he was taken to Croydon University Hospital by London Ambulance.

The man's wife and two children had already left the house before firefighters arrived, and crews used breathing apparatus to extinguish the fire.

The blaze in the property's loft space is under investigation by the Fire Investigation Unit, but it is believed to have been started by an electrical fault.

Watch Manager Robert Scrivener said: "The crew worked hard in strenuous, heated and confined conditions to put the fire out, which kept the damage to 20 percent of the roof.

"The gentleman had tried to extinguish the fire on his own, this was how he got his burns.

"My advice is do not try to put out a fire unless you are trained to do so, get out of the property and let the Fire Brigade do it."

After extinguishing the blaze firefighters fitted smoke alarms in the house and in a neighbouring property.

Watch Manager Scrivener added: "This fire shows the importance of having a working some alarm in your house. It is essential everyone has a working smoke alarm, which they test regularly."