A MAN who cheated death by jumping naked from a burning building on to the roof of a bus says he is still plagued by flashbacks six months after the terrifying ordeal.

Mitch Cook escaped uninjured from the Braintree Emergency Night Shelter (Bens) in the High Street but lost all of his belongings in the blaze.

The 47-year-old, who is now living in Witham, said: “I’m still struggling a bit, it’s hard to explain. It’s still very fresh in my mind, it has calmed down a bit but I still get freaked out.

"Sometimes I wake up with a jolt.

“They have moved me downstairs now though because I was worried about having to jump out of windows.

“I feel like I have got a bit of security now, but then I felt like that in the other place.

“I have got a counsellor and mental health workers because I still get stressed out.”

Mr Cook had been in the shower when the blaze started on February 11.

When he emerged he found the exits blocked byawall of flames so he clambered out of a third-storey window.

Passers-by hailed down a double-decker bus driven by Andy Waterman – who was later given a commendation by the fire service – so Mr Cook could leap to safety.

Homeless man Ben Wilson, 19, admitted arson in June but will not be sentenced until October 19 at the earliest.

See this week's Braintree and Witham Times for the full story.