The daughter of a retired builder who was left trapped in his attic for three days praised the fire services for his rescue.

Henry Pratt, 80, was saved by firefighters using specialist mountain rescue equipment after a worried neighbour raised the alarm.

Mr Pratt, known to his friends as Mike, was discovered by police at his home in Caterham Drive, Coulsdon on February 17 The retired builder, who had lived alone for more than 25 years since the death of his wife Hazel, was taken to Mayday Hospital suffering from extreme dehydration.

His daughter Sarah, 43, said: "He built that house with his bare hands, and it’s tragic to think of him laying there in the cold looking at the rafters he put up, with everyone going about their daily business.

“He must have been thinking ‘oh my God, if I shut my eyes could it be the last time?’.

“When I first heard he was in the loft my initial reaction was ‘what the hell is he doing up there?’ – sometimes he struggles to get up my steps.”

Miss Pratt added her father had since admitted his days of going up ladders had come to an end.

She said: “It’s taught him a lesson. He used to fly up those ladders 30 years ago.

“He’s spritely and has got all his wits about him, but he’s an 80-year-old man and he’s got to remember that.

“He gets frustrated that he can’t do the things he used to be able to, and as soon as he’s got a bit of energy he’s up fixing something.”

Neighbour and friend David Henwood, 77, said Mr Pratt’s ordeal was a warning to all elderly people about the dangers of being “too independent”.

He said: “I would go up in the attic and look at my central heating system – which was fitted by Mike incidentally – but only because my wife’s here in case something happens.

“It’s a warning to all of us.”

Firefighters used a special “basket stretcher” to carry Mr Pratt from the roof space.

Mrs Pratt said: “I can’t thank the fire service enough, especially as they had to deal with a hysterical woman like myself.

“They put the person and the family at ease, and really are outstanding”