A binman crawled through thick smoke to rescue a man from his burning flat.

And it was just by chance that Kevin Stainburn and his colleague Ian Chamberlain were driving past the flat at Carr Street, Birstall, last Tuesday.

Together with a third passer-by, Lee Foster, they managed to gain access to the flat complex and alerted other occupants to the fire as they went.

They kicked the door in but were forced to retreat back downstairs due to the amount of smoke.

But undeterred Kevin crawled beneath the smoke with a torch and managed to rescue one of the men inside.

He said: “I had to crawl down because above me was completely smoke logged. I just crawled in and felt the heat and saw the sofa on fire. It was black, acrid smoke.

“I was struggling to breathe. I was shouting for this guy and heard a murmur. I pushed the door open and saw an arm. I just instinctively grabbed it and dragged him round.”

Kevin, 53, dragged the man out and in doing so inhaled a lung full of smoke himself. Leaving the casualty on the communal landing, Kevin re-entered the flat looking for the second occupant but was overcome by the fumes.

Carr Street, Birstall

He dragged the man he had managed to rescue down the stairs with the help of Ian, and brought him out into the fresh air.

Meanwhile Lee, 41, of Baildon, had continued to raise the alarm for residents in the flats and even managed to flag down a passing ambulance.

Cleckheaton Fire crews arrived and entered the building and located a second occupant who had breathing difficulties.

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service hailed the trio as heroes and invited them to Cleckheaton Fire Station to reunite them with the crews who attended that day.

Fire Investigator Jamie Lister said: “The two men in the flat were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation but the consequences could have been far worse had it not been for the brave actions of these three men.

“Their persistent and determined efforts to rescue people, who were ultimately strangers to them, is truly commendable.”

Cleckheaton Fire Station Watch Commander Martin Bleasdale, who was incident commander, added: “Smoke detection in the property was installed, however, the batteries had been removed. The lack of vital early detection could well have cost the occupants their lives.

“Whilst we would always advise people not to enter a burning building, the instinctive, brave and clearly determined actions of Kevin, Ian and Lee, before the arrival of crews, are highly commendable. Such selfless actions undoubtedly assisted towards a successful conclusion to the incident.”

Kevin added: “It’s just something that you instinctively do and you like to think that somebody would do it for your family.”

For more fire safety advice visit www.westyorksfire.gov.uk where you can also book a FREE Home Fire Safety Check. Alternatively ring 0800 5874536.