A pub landlord has told how he rushed to help put out a fire at a block of flats last night where a man died after setting himself alight.

Daniel Sheehy runs the Black Lion pub in Brighton Road, and was one of the first on the scene.

He said: “I was collecting glasses and heard a commotion outside.

“I saw a fire so grabbed one of our fire extinguishers and ran across the road.

“Another customer came with me and said he knew how to use the extinguisher so we went over and tried to help.

A man in his 30s died in hospital this morning after setting himself on fire at the flats, on the corner of Brighton Road and Balaclava Road at 8.27pm last night.

Mr Sheehy said he also saw a terrified woman hanging out of a window.

“There was a lady perched on a window sill. She was panicing and threatened to jump.

“It was very frightening.”

Mr Sheehy, who has owned the pub for eight years, said police and ambulance crews were on the scene in minutes.

“It all happened so fast. I’m not a hero - it had to be done and it was just a quick reaction.”

A resident of Balaclava Road, who did not want to be named, said: “I saw a young man lying in the road and the ambulance crews were working on him.

“He looked in a bad way and had obviously been badly burned.”

Two police officers were still at the scene this afternoon and the area remains cordoned off.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman confirmed four other people had been treated for shock and smoke inhalation and they were not seeking anyone else in connection with the fire.

The man’s next of kin have been informed and a postmortem examination is due to take place next week.