A driver of a No5 bus was hailed a hero after leaping from his vehicle to rescue an elderly man from a burning house.

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

Now Mr Hubbard - a bus driver with Calder Coaches, of Nelson, for just two weeks - will be put forward for a bravery award by firemen.

He said: "I saw smoke billowing from the upstairs window and flames from the downstairs porch. The old man was standing in the doorway and 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: 'Am I 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 and 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 anymore.

"When we got outside I looked round and it was like a total bonfire. I think I singed my hair.''

Mr Hubbard, of Burnley, Lancashire, 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 is being treated at Airedale General Hospital, Steeton. Mr Hubbard was treated for smoke inhalation and was discharged.

Keighley Station Officer Andy Newman said: "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, in a confused state and suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.''

The fire started when curtains near an electric cooker caught alight, setting fire to the kitchen and spreading to the hallway and into the lounge.

He said firefighters used a special thermal imager to locate the hot spots.

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