A North Yorkshire landlord has appeared in court after one of his tenants had to escape through an upstairs window and another had a lucky escape from a blaze at his property.

Two neighbours who tried to put out the fire in the mid-terraced building were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

North Yorkshire fire investigators found the house had no fire detectors fitted and substandard interior doors and prosecuted landlord Michael Hassall, 49, for fire safety breaches.

The fire authority's solicitor Karen Galloway said: "Those living at the address were placed at risk of death or serious injury owing to the inadequate fire safety measures in place. There is no doubt that had the fire authority not taken action the serious contraventions in this case would have continued unchecked”.

Hassall, of Nox Mill Lane, Killinghall, Harrogate, pleaded guilty to failure to take general fire precautions and failure to carry out a proper fire risk assessment and was ordered to pay £8205.74 in fines, prosecution costs and a statutory surcharge.

His house in Scargill Road, Harrogate, had bedrooms let to different tenants. In the early hours of August 24, 2014, according to the fire authority, two tenants had no warning of a fire that broke out in a ground bedroom. One had to escape through an upstairs window.

Magistrates said Hassall had a duty and a responsibility for his tenants' safety.