Four people were left stranded on a balcony after fleeing a blaze at their home.
The alarm was raised at 2am today after fire broke out in a bedroom in the basement of a house in Emmanuel Road, Hastings.
When firefighters arrived they discovered the four occupants crowded together on a balcony at the back of the terraced house.
All four were taken to The Conquest Hospital, Hastings, suffering the effects of smoke.
The bedroom was destroyed in the fire and the rest of the house was left badly smoke damaged.
A fire service spokesman said: "It looks like someone had lit the candles then gone out of the room, leaving them burning.
"We would like to warn people again how dangerous it is to leave burning candles unattended. These people were lucky not to be seriously hurt."
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