THIS dramatic picture shows a mattress on fire as the blaze spreads to trees and bushes before it is brought under control by a fire crew.

The fire at the rear of Jubilee House in Mayfield Road in Worcester was reported at 7.53pm last night. The mattress fire near the Goodrest Tavern spread to hedges and trees before it was successfully brought under control.

An eyewitness said an off-duty retained firefighter helped put out the fire with a member of the public using fire extinguishers.

He added: "Apparently local kids set fire to a mattress, picnic table and it started to spread to the trees."

A spokesperson for the fire service said: "One mattress and a small amount of hedge and trees were well alight at the rear of Jubilee House."

A single crew from Worcester Fire Station attended the fire and used a hose reel to extinguish the flames before dampening down the surrounding area.

A member of staff, answering the phone at the Goodrest, told the reporter: "To be honest I wasn't here and if you speak to the landlord he would tell you that you haven't done us no favours in the past so why would we want to speak to you now?"

The stop message for fire crews was recorded as 8.09pm.