AN elderly Nacton couple had a lucky escape after an electrical fault caused some of their floorboards to catch fire.Bob Jacobs, 77, and his wife Ivy, 78, of Church Road, were forced back by thick smoke when they entered their lounge at around 7am yesterday.

AN elderly Nacton couple had a lucky escape after an electrical fault caused some of their floorboards to catch fire.

Bob Jacobs, 77, and his wife Ivy, 78, of Church Road, were forced back by thick smoke when they entered their lounge at around 7am yesterday.

Two fire engines, one from Princes Street and another from Colchester Road, Ipswich, attended the fire, which was brought under control by around 8am.

Mr Jacobs said: "It must have been heating up in the night and then caught fire because when my wife came in the room this morning it was full of smoke.

"I did go in to try and switch the electric off but I couldn't stand the smoke. There was still a bit of a flame when I went in."

Most of the furniture in the room suffered smoke damage.

Mr Jacobs was full of praise for the work of the firefighters and said: "I can't speak highly enough for those blokes, they really are fantastic."

The couple were today making plans to have smoke detectors installed in their property after advice from the fire service.