A NEIGHBOUR who risked his life to rescue a group of people from a blazing house in Bacup today said: "I'm no hero, I just acted on instinct."

Quick-thinking Nigel Clegg used ladders to climb on to the roof of the terraced house in Abbey Street to pull the group of five to safety.

Celia Lynch, 24, baby Jim, 2, and friends Vicky Ticehurst, 15, PJ Goodwin, 6, and Aaron Goodwin, 12 months, were asleep in the house when a blaze broke out in the kitchen at about 5am yesterday.

They were woken by the sound of baby Jim's screams to a smoke-filled house and managed to clamber through a sky-light on to the roof.

Mr Clegg then carried the group one one by one to the safety of the ground below. All five were unhurt.

Father-of-five Mr Clegg, 44, of Stanley Street, who works as a handy man in the Bacup and Rawtenstall area, said: "I'm not a hero I just acted on instinct. I didn't have time to think about what I was doing I just grabbed the ladders and got them down. If I hadn't had the ladders I would have broken the door down to get to them. When there are kids involved you do everything you can to keep them safe.

Mr Clegg, who is married to Beverley, 40 and who has five children, John Paul, 22, Lee, 20, Nigel, 15, Sarah, 13, and Michael, 12, added: "I don't think what I did was anything special, the fire brigade are the real heroes because they do this sort of thing every day."

Celia's husband Chris Lynch, 32, of Albert Street, Bacup, paid tribute to the man who saved his young family's life.

He said: "It's lucky Nigel was there or I dread to think what might have happened, I can't thank him enough for what he did.

"If it wasn't for him they could all have been killed, but luckily he didn't panic and acted really calmly. He just went to get the ladder and then helped them all off the roof."