A MAN suffered smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in a basement flat in Harrogate.

Fire crews discovered a pile of clothing and a bookcase alight in the living room of the flat on Nydd Vale Terrace at about 4am today. The heat and smoke damaged the flat where the fire started and the property above it in the two-storey block.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the man who breathed in smoke was out of the flat by the time they arrived and was treated by paramedics. The cause is believed to be "discarded smokers' materials".