A Linthwaite resident has been hailed a ‘hero’ after rescuing his neighbour from a blaze.
The unnamed man, who lives on Upper Clough Road, raced to the rescue of the 73-year-old who lives next door when he heard a cry for help at around 7.20am yesterday while he was outside in his back garden.
He found that his sofa had been set ablaze by a faulty electric blanket and quickly unplugged the device before pouring buckets of water on it to extinguish the flames.
He then rang 999 and was joined by two crews from Slaithwaite and Huddersfield, who checked to make sure it had been fully put out, before transferring the elderly man to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary to have a precautionary check up.
Matthew Green, Slaithwaite watch commander, said: “What he did was very heroic and he did a sterling job.
“The resident was actually sitting on the blanket at the time and was very lucky that nothing worse happened.
“We’d like to remind people to get blankets and other electrical heating devices checked every three years and buy a new one if they are not working properly.”
