THREE modest heroes have been praised for saving the lives of their elderly neighbours when fire broke out in their home.

Brave David Pratt, Chris

Marshall and Bob North ran into the home of elderly neighbours James and Marie Howley

when their chip pan burst into flames.

Braving a smoke and flame-filled kitchen, Mr Pratt calmly put a damp cloth over the

burning pan while the elderly couple were rushed out of the house by the other two neighbours.

Mr and Mrs Howley were

having their Sunday lunch when the fire started.

They were unaware that they had left their chip pan on, and had gone into their dining room, shutting the kitchen door behind them.

It wasn't until their neigh-bours arrived that they knew

anything was wrong.

Mr and Mrs Howley and their rescuers were treated for smoke inhalation at the house.

Now Mr Howley, of Hawthorn Road, Yeadon, is full of grati-tude.

He said: "The kitchen was thick with smoke. We could have burned without help."

But Mr Pratt was very modest about the whole thing and was remaining tight-lipped about his daring rescue, insisting he had done nothing out of the

ordinary.

"It was nothing - I've put chip pan fires out in my own kitchen, and this wasn't really any

different. I don't want any recognition for it," he said.

"The two next door are getting on, and I'm just doing my bit by keeping an eye on them, that's all. I'm not a hero."

And Mr North also insisted he had done nothing heroic.

"Young Chris Marshall saw it first. He was walking his dog at the back and saw the smoke. All the neighbours basically got there at the same time. I just did what anyone would do," he

said.

But the Howley's son-in-law, Stephen Crossley, disagreed and praised their actions.

He said: "If they hadn't come in when they did, the house could have burnt down and there could have been a tragedy.

"I can't thank the neighbours enough. Without them, there could have been a real tragedy so we owe them everything. They deserve medals."

A spokesman for Rawdon Fire Station also praised the actions and quick-thinking of the neighbours.

"They acted very promptly and definitely prevented a lot of damage to the house," he said. "These sort of situations can very easily get out of control."

"As it happened, the elderly couple were quite badly shaken and nothing worse, which is a bonus with people who are quite delicate."

The spokesman added that the moral of the incident was to never leave a chip pan unat-tended.

The fire happened just before 1pm on Sunday. The couple's cooker was badly damaged and the kitchen suffered smoke damage.

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