A bus driver has been praised for his life-saving dash from his bus into a blazing home to rescue an elderly man.

Andrew Hubbard, 27, braved fierce flames and choking smoke to reach 83-year-old Clarence Banbury, whose cottage in Glen Lee Lane, Keighley, was engulfed by fire last Friday.

Mr Hubbard, a bus driver with Calder Coaches, of Nelson, for just two weeks, told us: "I saw smoke billowing from the upstairs window and flames from the downstairs porch. The old man was standing in the doorway - he threw something out and then went back in again. I stopped and ran across the road and the doorway was all in flames. I shouted in. He didn't call back but murmured. I thought I am doing the right thing to go in, but I knew if I didn't it was going to get worse. I got down on my hands and knees, crawled in and found him half-way up the stairs. I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out. The smoke was very thick and I couldn't hold my breath any more. When we got outside I looked round and it was like a total bonfire. I think I singed my hair.''

Mr Hubbard, of Burnley, qualified as a pilot in California and is working on the buses to raise cash to qualify as a commercial pilot.

Mr Banbury suffered burns and was treated at Airedale Hospital. Mr Hubbard was treated for smoke inhalation and discharged.

Keighley Fire Station Officer Andy Newman says: "Mr Hubbard undoubtedly saved the elderly gentleman's life. It was a very brave thing to do.

"He went into the house, passing a fiercely burning kitchen, and found Mr Banbury on the stairs. He was conscious, confused and suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.''

The fire started when curtains near an electric cooker caught fire, setting fire to the kitchen and spreading to the hallway and into the lounge. Firefighters used a special thermal imager to locate the hot spots and make the building safe.

Firefighters in Keighley offer a free risk assessment, giving advice on how to make homes safe. Anyone interested should phone the fire station on 607401.

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