Hero dog saves owner's life as he was trapped in a burning building

A grateful dog owner has thanked his faithful pooch for saving his life when fire ripped through his home.

John Toothill,61, praised Alfie the Alsatian for raising the alarm after the midnight blaze started in the loft of his bungalow in Westby with Plumptons, Lancashire.

Alfie sniffed out the danger even though the smoke alarms had not been activated and gave John and partner Nicky time to escape before the whole house went up in flames.

Nursery owner John and Nicky had no time to rescue any of their precious possessions from the home where they have lived in for 32 years.

The father-of-two said: "Alfie is the hero. We had smoke alarms fitted but the fire was in the roof and when I woke up there was no sign of a fire, no smoke, no smell.

"All I could hear was Alfie barking and a sound like heavy hail on the roof.

"The heat and flames were obviously rising up from the roof so I did not know for a while that anything was wrong.

"I glanced outside and there was an eerie glow in the car park. So I went out and saw the whole of the roof on fire. I was astonished.

"I ran back in to get partner Nicky out. She had already got up and I grabbed a few things before going back outside and calling the fire service.

"I was standing there in just my jeans and wellies when the fire engines came. The ceiling fell in and the whole house went up.

"All you could hear was double glazing units exploding and aerosols from the kitchen going off."

He said thankfully no-one was hurt and no-one suffered smoke inhalation thanks to the early warning from Alfie.

But John said he had virtually lost all his possessions in the inferno which is currently thought to have been started by an electrical fault.

He added: "I am just grateful that my children were away at the time and that Alfie woke us up. He saved us."

Lancashire Fire and Rescue said: "The cause is now being investigated but it seems to have started in the loft."