A family of ten owe their lives to a passer-by who raised the alarm after a fierce blaze swept through their home.

The fire took hold in a first floor bedroom as some of the family watched television downstairs and others cooked a meal in a basement kitchen last night.

They were alerted by the passer-by who hammered on the front door after seeing flames pouring out the top windows of the four-storey terrace in Horton Grange Road, Great Horton, Bradford.

Six adults and four children, aged between three and seven, managed to get out of the house but they were suffering from the effects of smoke.

Firefighters from Bradford and Fairweather Green searched the smoke-filled building after initial reports that people were trapped inside but soon found that everyone had managed to escape. Next-door neighbour Tariq Hussain, 25, said: "We saw the family came out from inside quite quickly and they seemed to be all right but they were coughing a bit.

"I was in our basement when it started and my brother came and shouted that next door's house was on fire.

"The fire looked very bad. There were dozens of people watching, six fire engines and two ambulances. The flames were coming out the first floor window and smoke was pouring from the attic.

"Firemen went inside in masks to see if there was anybody inside.

"Then suddenly, the upstairs window exploded. It was quite scary."

He added: "At one point, there was smoke coming out of our attic. We have got a bit of some smoke damage in there."

Firefighters put the blaze out shortly before 8pm, but spent an hour ventilating the house and clearing out the devastated bedroom.

They believe the fire was started by a cigarette butt or an electrical fault.

Station Officer Steve Atkinson, of Bradford fire station, said: "It was a lucky escape because the occupant had been watching television with his family, while other members were in the basement kitchen.

"He checked the bedroom, shut the door to prevent the fire spreading, then got his family out, which was the best thing to do.

"We have no idea who the hero was, but we would praise their actions which could have saved the family's lives.

"We were faced with a very severe house fire and had reports that there were people trapped inside, so we checked the first floor and attic bedrooms above the fire, which could have been dangerous.

"The first floor bedroom is gutted and the attic bedrooms are badly smoke-damaged."

Mr Atkinson urged smokers to ensure their cigarettes are extinguished properly.

The owner, who was too upset to talk, and his family went to stay with relatives.

Firefighters are to give out leaflets to householders in Horton Grange Road offering free fire safety checks.