An elderly gardener suffered burns to his hands after trying to fill a paraffin burner in a greenhouse.

Firefighters from Frinton and Weeley treated him after being called to the blaze in the garden of a house in Frinton Road, Holland.

A spokesman for Frinton fire station said: "We found a small fire in the greenhouse and a gentleman in his 70s with burns to his hands.

"He was treated by the service personnel at the scene, but an ambulance was also called.

"The gentleman was filling a paraffin burner in a confined space where the vapours were rich, but it ignited and then flashed over."