A SHOP owner who was rescued from a flat fire wants to highlight the importance of smoke alarms.

Mark Weldt fell asleep in the flat above his shop, Return to Splendour, in Gloucester Road, Ross-on-Wye last Saturday after an exhausting day.

But he had left some food to cook in the oven which eventually set on fire.

At 2.30am two passers-by, Molly Fewell and Amber Jarrett, heard the smoke alarm go off and looked up through the window to see smoke in the flat.

They then called the fire service who attended and rescued Mr Weldt, who had been knocked unconscious from the smoke.

Mr Weldt said: "I turned 50 in March. That was a bit of a big deal for me. And the events of that weekend, if those things hadn't been in place, like the smoke alarm. It is like having the chance to do the next 50 years.

"I have now got a new birthday in May."

Mr Weldt lives in the Forest of Dean but runs the vintage shop in Ross.

He has become increasingly concerned as he believes there has been a big increase in the number of burglaries at commercial premises and homes in the town, Herefordshire and beyond.

He said: "For the last four weeks I have had to be more vigilant in the shop. I am determined to make sure I am not the next victim in all this."

He said he has been working late into the evenings.

Mr Weldt said: "I am just so worried about it. I have been working until 10 or 11 at night.

"On that particular evening I closed the shop at 11pm. I had been up at 5.30am.

"I was going to do the easy thing. I put something to eat in the oven. And I sat down and through exhaustion I fell asleep."

He said there was no damage to the flat and he wants to highlight just how important working fire alarms are.