A NEWPORT man says he is lucky to be alive after a ceiling joist fell and alerted him to a fire at his home which investigators now believe was an arson attack.

Brian Purcell was awakened by a loud crashing noise at his second-floor flat in Commercial Road at around 3.30am on Sunday.

He said: "I heard a sudden loud bang coming from the empty flat downstairs and when I opened my eyes the room was full of thick smoke. "I ran to my bedroom door, checked it wasn't hot and then got a wet tea towel to put over my mouth."

The 35-year-old driver, who has lived at the flat for just over a year, then had to find his way to safety - down two flights of stairs and through thick black smoke.

He said: "I couldn't see a thing. I just got on to my hands and knees and felt my way all the way down to the ground floor and called the fire service." Mr Purcell told the Argus that he felt very lucky to be alive.

He said: "If I hadn't have heard that joist falling then I wouldn't be here today, it's a very sobering thought."

And one of the first things he is going to do is make sure his smoke alarm is fixed.

He said: "I have a smoke alarm but it doesn't work, I think the batteries are run-down, but I'm going to get that sorted now."

A spokesman for the fire service told the Argus they believed that the fire was deliberately started.