Neighbours Praised for Rescuing Elderly Woman from House Fire

A woman has praised a group of neighbours who ran into her mother's home to rescue her from a fire.

Suzanne Wright was first alerted to the blaze by her mother's doorbell camera, which showed the neighbours trying in vain to break into the property in Wigston, Leicestershire, as they waited for the fire service to arrive.

Inside, 87-year-old Phyllis Day, who has Alzheimer's, was asleep and completely unaware the fire had broken out.

Wright used the doorbell camera's remote intercom function to instruct the group on how to enter the house and they were able to pull her to safety.

The group noticed a fire in the house just before 23:30 BST on Thursday and began trying to break down the door.

Wright said: "There are smoke alarms, but she'd taken her hearing aids out and was in bed, completely oblivious.

"I was in a panic. Getting in the car with my husband and driving down here, I was talking to them through the doorbell intercom.

"When I saw them [on the doorbell camera] open the door and all step back, I realised that these people had run into a burning building to save my mummy, who was a relative stranger to them.

"To not know what bedroom my mum was in and not know that you're going to be able to get back down the stairs... they're heroes."

Pav Sarpal, 28, and Stephan Smart, 44, were among the neighbours who headed upstairs to look for Day.

"It's the worst thing I've ever seen in my life - the flames, the smoke," said Sarpal.

"I went in first, I couldn't breathe. I said to my partner [to] get me a towel so I can go upstairs and take her down.

"I was coughing - the smoke was the worst thing.

"It was like you were physically getting choked by the smoke. I came down twice to get fresh air and then back up to bring Sue's mum down."

Smart added: "I just saw flames come straight through that kitchen door.

"I panicked a little to start with. All I knew was that somebody was upstairs and I had to get up there and get her down as quickly as possible."

The pair had to wake Day up in her bed.

Smart said: "She looked at me like I was going to rob her or something, but I got her out of bed.

"Pav was next to me and we got her down, slowly, but in time."

The group said the fire had brought them closer together.

Smart said: "These guys I've only seen in the street, I don't really know them. We will say hello now more than we ever did before.

"And I know if it was my grandad or parents, somebody would do it for mine."

Wright said: "Those people saved my mum's life, without question. My mum would have only had a couple of minutes at most.

"When people are that amazing, people who barely know each other, the world isn't all bad.

"I appeal to King Charles to knight my mummy's lovely neighbours - that's what I would like. They're amazing."

A spokesperson for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews from Central and Wigston fire stations attended within seven minutes of the initial call to tackle the blaze. It was found to be accidental.

"While we understand that the neighbours acted in the best intentions in rescuing the resident, we would urge the public not to enter buildings that are on fire, for any reason, as doing so endangers more lives.

"Smoke inhalation can quickly disorientate, injure and incapacitate."