AN ELECTRIC fan could be the cause of a fire which broke out in a town centre flat today, destroying a bedroom.Three fire engines were called to the three-storey house on Turret Lane after the blaze was spotted this morning.

AN ELECTRIC fan could be the cause of a fire which broke out in a town centre flat today, destroying a bedroom.

Three fire engines were called to the three-storey house on Turret Lane after the blaze was spotted at around 9.50am.

Tom Whitman, who rents the property with two women, was working in Woodbridge when a neighbour called and told him about the fire.

No-one was in the house at the time and fire crews had to break into the property to enable them to tackle the blaze.

Mr Whitman said: “To come home and see it like this is a bit of a shock.

“Nothing will be salvaged from my room, where it started, and in the two bedrooms on the top floor there's smoke damage.

“I can't believe all my stuff is gone, all my clothes and everything.”

Neighbours looked on as fire fighters tackled the blaze but the other houses in the terraced row did not have to be evacuated as a result of the fire.

The fire is believed to have started because of an electrical fault in Mr Whitman's bedroom on the first floor. Firefighters believe the cause was either a fan or the socket the fan was plugged into.

Suffolk Fire Service's assistant divisional officer Karl Rolfe said: “When we arrived there was an established fire on the first floor which had led to smoke logging in the rest of the house.

“We forced entry, extinguished the fire and a search of the property found it was clear of casualties.”

An ambulance crew was also called to the scene but not needed.

n. Did you see the fire? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or email eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk