A LANDLADY today spoke of the dramatic moment she was woken by her smoke alarm when her pub almost burst into flames.Lynn Keightley and her nine-year-old son, Kai, live above the Blooming Fuchsia which caught alight shortly before 7am today.

A LANDLADY today spoke of the dramatic moment she was woken by her smoke alarm when her pub almost burst into flames.

Lynn Keightley and her nine-year-old son, Kai, live above the Blooming Fuchsia which caught alight shortly before 7am today.

The couple escaped from the blaze in the pub, in Foxhall Road, Ipswich, shortly before three fire engines arrived at the scene.

Mrs Keightley said: “My smoke alarm went off and it woke me up. I was very shocked and didn't really know what was going on but managed to get out myself and get Kai out.

“The main thing is that we escaped the fire and are safe but it is upsetting to see the damage.

“I am just so pleased I had a working smoke alarm.”

Mrs Keightley does not know how much damage has been caused by the fire, which is believed to have started in the cellar, but says the pub has been damaged by smoke and some of the floorboards have been taken up.

She said the pub would not be open today and it is not known when it will be able to re-open.

Gary Smith, incident commander of Suffolk fire and rescue, said: “The fire broke out in the electric input in the basement.

“There is not too much fire damage although there is a fair bit of smoke damage.”

Although the fire was put out within ten minutes crews had to wait for an hour for the electricity board to attend and switch off the mains so the entire property could be searched.

Traffic coming in and out of Ipswich was heavily held up over the busy rush hour time because of the fire engines outside the pub.

N Where you stuck in the traffic build-up? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk