Oooh look at the size of his hose !

A group of firefighters were mobbed by women who thought they were part of the act when they arrived to tackle a blaze during a strip show. Female fans clapped the firefighters at a pub in St Helens, Merseyside.

"One lady shouted, we have got our money's worth here," said watch manager Paul Costello.

The fire was accidentally started by a stripper using lighter fluid in his act. One person was hospitalised with smoke inhalation.A bar stool and carpet in the stripper's dressing room had caught alight from one of the fire sticks used in the stripper's act - but customers in the bar did not know.

When the men in uniform burst in to tackle the blaze they were greeted with cheers and shouts from the women watching the show.

"Because the fire was in another part of the building they did not know we had been called out," added Mr Costello, of the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.

Only minor damage was caused and the fire was put out with cold water.