POLICE are this evening investigating a suspected arson attack after two people had to be rescued from a smoke-logged York house by firefighters.

A woman and a man were trapped in an upstairs bedroom by a blaze in the ground floor of the semi-detached property in Leeside, Dringhouses, early today.

Fire crews used ladders to rescue them from the first floor room and they were taken to hospital for a provisional check up.

North Yorkshire Police said a 43-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of arson over the blaze, and he remained in custody late this afternoon.

Neighbour Ashley Shield said he was woken by shouting and banging coming from next door, and assumed at first it might be an argument before he realised the neighbours might be on the phone and calling for help. 

He then saw the firefighters rescuing the pair from a window at the back of their house and a policeman knocked on his door to warn him to evacuate the house, and he had to wake his children Harry, seven, and Jack, four.

He said: "The ladders came up and they got them out of the window, and we had the bang on the door and got told to hurry up and get out.

"I had to get the kids up - shoes on and coats on - and drag them round to a neighbour's house for a few hours before we were allowed back in. It was all right - that's the main thing, no one was hurt."

Other neighbours said children were sometimes in the house but were not there on Thursday night, and one said she understood a cat had been killed in the fire.

A resident said: "I can't believe this has happened - this is usually a very quiet street."

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said the people trapped in the room were given fire survival advice by a control room operator until the crews from York and Acomb fire stations arrived.

A spokesman could not say what advice was given to them, as it would have depended on the circumstances, but people were typically advised in such situations to keep their door shut and put blankets or pillows around it to prevent smoke entering the room.

People might also be advised to stay as low as possible, where there was least smoke, and stay near the window from which they could be rescued. They might also be asked which room they were in and whether there were any hazardous substances in the property.