A HOMELESS man's swift actions helped prevent the spread of fire at a block of flats in Tranmere today.

Neil Eastwood was walking along Derby Road at 1pm when he noticed a blaze in the ground-floor flat.

The 27-year-old alerted neighbours who called fire crews and police.

Firefighters worked quickly to stop the flames spreading to a flat upstairs.

Neil, a plasterer originally from Manchester, has been a resident at the YMCA in nearby Whetstone Lane for six months.

He told the Globe: "I was walking along and saw the fire, but don’t think anyone else had twigged what was going on.

"I didn't have a mobile phone and was in a panic, so I knocked on the neighbours' doors, hoping that someone would answer.

"Luckily, they did and rang the police and fire.

"I'm just happy to have done my bit to help and was more relieved that there was no one in the flat at the time."

The living room of the property was destroyed in the fire and the rest of the flat was damaged by smoke.

There was nobody in the property at the time. An investigation is being carried out to determine the cause.

Crews from Birkenhead, Wallasey and Bromborough attended and were at the scene for just over an hour.

Watch manager Kev Hollis, from Birkenhead fire station, said: "The fire was dealt with quickly and firefighters stopped it spreading to the flat above.

"We would like to remind people of the importance of having smoke alarms fitted on each floor of a property and we would urge people to test them every week."