Firefighters were called to a fire in the house of a suspected hoarder this morning.

Crews from New Addington, Purley and Croydon fire stations were called to the address in Benhurst Gardens, South Croydon, at 1.10am.

A 59-year-old man escaped the property before the fire brigade arrived, and was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

The crews managed to contain the fire to 50 percent of the ground floor and the blaze was fully extinguished after 30 minutes.

Fire investigators were called to the scene and fire crews remained at the property for about three hours.

A firefighter from New Addington fire station said: "Once a fire is extinguished we have to clear parts of the house to make sure there are no hot pockets. When there are a lot things in there it can take longer to clear the room."

The crew member praised the home-owner for having a working smoke alarm, adding: "The gentleman did have a working smoke alarm which is good as it alerted him to the fire."