Elderly residents were evacuated from a Chorleywood care home last night when fire took hold of a pensioner’s bedroom.

Firefighters rushed Burford House, in Rickmansworth Road, shortly before midnight.

An 89-year-old man had accidently knocked a lamp onto the floor, which ignited a pair of curtains.

Watch commander Neil Nash said: “Some staff were in the room at the time and tried to put it out with fire extinguishers, but they were beaten back by the flames.

“It was on the ground floor so we put a hose through the window to put it out. There was a lot of smoke damage to the room”

Many more mobile residents were evacuated. Others, however, were kept safely in their rooms while the fire was dealt with.