A MAN escaped injury by clambering down a roof to safety after a suspicious fire broke out at a pub in the early hours of this morning.
The man was in a bedroom on the top floor of the Cups public house in Wantz Road, Maldon, when the fire started at about 3.30am.
He was alerted to the danger by a smoke alarm and quickly called 999 before climbing through a window and making his way to the ground.
An Essex County Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “He decided to clamber down a roof to safety and was at the roadside unhurt when crews arrived at the scene.
“The man confirmed that someone had thrown lighted materials through a pub window, triggering the blaze.”
Two crews from Maldon and a third from Witham attended the incident and the flames were under control by 4am. A joint police and fire service investigation will be carried out.
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