Mum May a blaze rescue heroine

A PENSIONER and her dog had a lucky escape when a quick-thinking neighbour climbed in through a window and carried them out of their blazing home.

May Jones was alerted to the fire by one of her children who woke her and told her to “come quickly” because the neighbour was still inside the house.

The 42-year-old dashed out of her home in Cardwell Street, Fitton Hill, to find the house next-door-but-one was on fire.

She said: “There was a crowd of people standing around but no-one wanted to go in.

I ran down and tried the door but it was locked, so I climbed in through the window and got them out.”

Kathleen Newton (60) and her Alsatian dog were in a downstairs room as the fire took hold in the kitchen, started by a pan of food on the cooker.

“She was in the room looking dazed, so I picked her up and carried her out through the window then I did the same with the dog,” said brave May, who has two children, aged 11 and 12.

The fire broke out around 10.45am on Friday, when May was fast asleep because she had only gone to bed at 6am.

“I didn’t think about what I was doing, I just climbed in through the window when I knew Kathleen was in there,” she said.

Paramedics took Ms Newton to hospital where she was kept in and treated for the effects of smoke, while neighbours took her dog to the nearby Pennine Pen rescue centre, where it will be cared for until she returns home.

Firefighters in three fire engines turned out to the blaze, and emergency crews wearing breathing apparatus went in the house to put out the flames, which caused fire and smoke damage throughout the kitchen.

A fire spokesman later warned of the dangers of leaving food unattended on a cooker, and urged householders to make sure they had a working fire alarm, as Ms Newton did.