NEIGHBOURS have been hailed as heroes for helping to save a woman's life in a house blaze drama.

The 36-year-old woman had gone to bed at her home on Shirley Grove in Lightcliffe when neighbours spotted that her living-room was on fire at 11.15pm last night.

The door was locked and they were unable to wake the woman, so they called firefighters and used a hosepipe to pour water on the fire through the broken living-room window. This helped to keep the flames down until firefighters arrived.

Crews wearing breathing masks broke in and searched the house.

They found the woman asleep on a bed upstairs, woke her up and helped her to safety.

She was taken to Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax for a check-up for breathing in smoke.

Sub-officer Roger Hare, of Brighouse fire station, said: "The neighbours did a terrific job and it's thanks to them that she's alive today.

"They saw the fire's glow in the living-room and immediately sprang into action.

"The fire was confined to a settee, chair and curtains in the living-room and the rest of the house was smoke-logged."

He added: "The house has two smoke detectors - but the batteries had been removed from them."

The cause of the blaze is being investigated, but is not thought to be suspicious.