Avonfield Garden Centre MD rescued from house fire

Neighbours named the man as James Vincent, the managing director of the Avonfield Garden Centre on Marsh Road, Hilperton.

It is understood Mr Vincent was taken to hospital to be treated for the effects of smoke inhalation.

Today, he was unavailable for comment. It is not known whether his wife Brenda was at home.

The incident happened shortly after 1.05am after firefighters from Trowbridge and Melksham were called out to a house fire in Victoria Road.

A Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “The caller could see that someone was still inside the property on the first floor.

“Two crews from Trowbridge and one from Melksham attended and found a fire in the lounge of the property.

“One male occupant was rescued from a first floor bedroom using a short extension ladder.

"Four breathing apparatus and two hose reels were used to extinguish the fire.”

Mr Vincent was formerly the manager of the Shaw Trust’s Palmer Garden Centre in Islington, Trowbridge, for 21 years until being made redundant in February 2007.

Today, Matthew Webb, his business partner at Avonfield Garden Centre, declined to comment. The nursery was voted the best in the Wiltshire Times area in 2015.

Many of Mr Vincent's neighbours were fast asleep during the incident and did not see or hear anything, but one who was woken up was 87-year-old Brenda Horler, who lives opposite.

Brenda said: “I woke up and got out of bed to get a drink and saw all the flashing lights. I looked out of the window and saw two fire engines and lots of firemen.

“They were there for ages making sure the fire was out. They kept checking the room to make sure it was alright.

“Eventually, I got back into bed because I was getting cold. If there had been any help needed I would have gone across the road but there was nothing I could have done.

“I feel very sorry for them, with it being so near to Christmas.”