SIX single mother families had to be rescued from a block of flats after a settee was set on fire in the stairwell. The women and their children had to be rescued by firefighters and nearby residents after the blaze at Apollo court in Apollo Way, Stevenag

SIX single mother families had to be rescued from a block of flats after a settee was set on fire in the stairwell.

The women and their children had to be rescued by firefighters and nearby residents after the blaze at Apollo court in Apollo Way, Stevenage, on Friday night.

The three storey building was so badly smoke damaged the women and children are now being put up in the Novotel on the outskirts of the town.

A spokesman for Stevenage fire brigade said they sent two crews and were supported by another two crews from Hitchin.

When a number of people had not been accounted for, four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus went into the flats and helped three women to safety.

One woman helped rescue several of the residents and their children with her husband using a ladder to reach balconies and snatch them to safety.