FIREFIGHTERS rescued residents and their pets from a high-rise block of flats after a blaze broke out.

A fire caught hold of a flat in Longbow Flats, Sherwood Way, Southend, last night at about 10.30pm.

The fire in the 13-storey block was contained in the home where it started on the seventh floor.

The floor was completely smoke-logged and firefighters helped save a number of residents, including elderly residents, families with children and their pets, from the building.

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