[Harry!]

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wa...1466-23468767/

A TOTAL of 30 people had to be evacuated after a mountainside caught fire behind Britain’s Got Talent star Paul Potts’ £450,000 home.

Smoke engulfed the 1930s Art Deco villa on Baglan Road, Port Talbot early yesterday but the house and those of others also perched on Baglan Mountain were not damaged.

The 38-year-old singer and his Swansea-born wife Julie-Ann, who bought the house last year, were in Philadelphia in the USA promoting his new album, Passione, when the blaze broke out.

The fire, which began just before midnight on Thursday, was finally extinguished around 8am yesterday.

Potts was in debt and working as a mobile phone salesman while living in a terraced house in Edward Street, Port Talbot, in 2007 when he won Britain’s Got Talent with his stunning rendition of opera classic Nessun Dorma.

Since then he has been on a money-spinning, globetrotting tour which has made his name in show business.

He and his wife decided to settle in Port Talbot because of the “wonderful people” they met while living in the town so they invested in the house, called Sunray.

At its peak in the early hours of yesterday, the fire on Baglan Mountain was tackled by around 40 firefighters and 14 homes were evacuated as strong winds blew smoke and embers close to homes.

Residents had to leave their homes for around two hours before being allowed back after the fire was brought under control.

Grass fires have been raging throughout Wales this week due to a long, dry spell plus light winds.