Neighbours rescue elderly brothers from Walsall house fire

The couple managed to force their way into the house in Hawbush Road after a blaze was sparked in the ground floor lounge.

Graham and Margaret Allen sprang into action after discovering the fire in the next door property at just before 7am on Saturday.

They helped to get Roy and Nigel Cattell from the heavily smoke-logged address as fire and ambulance crews were also called to the scene.

The occupants, who are believed to be in their early 80s and late 70s, were checked over for smoke inhalation ahead of being taken to alternative accommodation.

Mrs Allen, who works as a carer, first noticed black smoke coming from the Walsall Housing Group property when she prepared to go work on the morning.

She then called her husband Graham, aged 63, who managed to force the front door. One of the men was on the ground floor and he slumped onto Mrs Allen's shoulders.

The 60-year-old helped to take him round to her house and away from the smoke as paramedics were on their way.

Mr Allen, who works as a yard operative at a car auction site, managed to get upstairs through the thick black smoke using a torch. He was able to wake up the other occupant and help lead him to safety.

He said: "I couldn't see, all I had was a little torch. I had my hand over my mouth. I just kept shouting, and shouting and shouting him to get out of bed.

"The fire brigade said if I hadn't gone in and got him up he would have been dead. When it happens you don't think, you just go and do what you have got to do."

He added they felt sorry for the two brothers as a lot of belongings will have been destroyed but it was fortunate his wife had been up for work.

Mrs Allen, who has nine great-grandchildren, said: I noticed smoke coming out of the window.

"It was a complete shock, I am just grateful they are alive. We are going to help them the best way we can."

The cause of the blaze has not been confirmed but it is believed it could have been caused by an electrical fault. Workers from the housing association were at the address securing the premises at the weekend.

Firefighters are also warning people not to leave naked flames unattended after a flat fire.

Watch commander Tony Bucknall said two appliances from Wolverhampton station and one from Tettenhall were called to a block of nine bedsits in Compton Road at 11.45am Saturday.

A candle had been left burning in one of the ground floor bedsits, sitting on a sofa, and as the candle holder heated up it melted the cushion as it was not on a hard surface, and then started a fire.

Although the fire had been small, the bedsit was unusable and will have to be refurbished.

Two firefighters had to use breathing apparatus when they entered the bedsit to extinguish the fire due to the thick black smoke.

Mr Bucknall said three people had been home in the other bedsits at the time. "One of the things that saved the property and made sure everyone was safe was the working smoke alarms," he said.

He urged people to extinguish all naked flames before they leave a property, such as cigarettes and candles, and also recommended closing all doors as it would help contain a fire.