A PERSHORE landlady and her family were forced to climb out of their first-floor flat when fire broke out above a pub on Christmas Day.

Four fire crews from Pershore and Evesham attended the blaze at the Plough Inn at 3.45am.

Landlady Terri Bell and her 47-year-old partner Ken were forced to climb to safety along with her son.

She said: "Ken has third-degree burns to his feet.

He was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital that night and later transferred to Perry Barr Hospital, Birmingham.

"It has caused serious damage to the pub. We can't live here at the moment," she added.

The High Street pub had 100 people booked in for Christmas dinner but was forced to cancel the meal.

The cause of the blaze is being investigated.