NEIGHBOURS RESCUE 87-YEAR-OLD FROM HOUSE FIRE IN LEICESTERSHIRE

A group of neighbours in Wigston, Leicestershire, entered a burning house to rescue an 87-year-old woman who was asleep inside. Phyllis Day, who has Alzheimer's, was unaware the fire had broken out because she had removed her hearing aids and could not hear the smoke alarms. Her daughter, Suzanne Wright, was alerted to the blaze by her mother's doorbell camera and used its remote intercom function to guide the neighbours on how to enter the property and locate Day.

The neighbours noticed the fire just before 23:30 BST on Thursday and began attempting to force entry to the house. Among those who entered were Pav Sarpal, aged 28, and Stephan Smart, aged 44, who headed upstairs to find Day in her bedroom. Sarpal reported that smoke in the house made breathing difficult and that he had to return to the ground floor twice to obtain fresh air before going back upstairs with Day. Smart said he saw flames coming through the kitchen door and had to wake Day from her bed before helping her down the stairs.

Wright described the group's actions as heroic, stating that the neighbours had run into a burning building to save her mother, who was largely unknown to them. The neighbours said the incident had brought them closer together, with Smart noting that he had only seen some of them in the street before. The fire service attended the property after being called by the group.