FIREFIGHTERS have described how a fire in a cottage turned into a "nightmare" as they battled in torrential rain and against life-threatening hazards to discover whether there was an occupant.

Kidderminster station firefighter Tony Wilks said the call to a terraced row of three old cottages in the Gilgal area of Stourport at 7.15 pm on Tuesday sounded at first like a routine job.

But there was a series of surprise problems that combined to make the near four-hour job at The Cheapside "one of the trickiest" he could remember.

Most alarming was the discovery of unfired shotgun cartridges in the house, a live electrical fault and a ruptured gas main.

Mr Wilks said: "It was one thing after another and it was tipping down. We were soaked to the skin in a minute.

"The house worst affected was in the middle and supposed to be empty but we were told there had been squatters there. The fire was well alight with flames coming out of the window and at the back.

"We were working with the electrics fizzing and sparking and there was a gas pipe to worry about as well. There were three unexploded shotgun cartridges by the door. They could have gone off at any moment."

Meanwhile, firefighters also had to worry about minimising damage to the cottages because they were listed.

The inferno, however, totally destroyed the ground floor of the middle house that was understood to be up for sale for £125,000.

Bewdley and Stourport firefighers also attended the blaze which is being treated as suspicious by fire investigating officers.