"I WAS frenziedly smashing the glass because I couldn't open the door, I was so wound up... determined to get him out of there." This was how Stuart Villarroel, of Westbourne Road in Lancaster, described the scene as he fought bravely to rescue his unconscious neighbour who lay slumped in a chair amid a raging chip pan fire. Firefighters said Stuart's efforts and the help of another neighbour Bob Tyson probably saved the life of 44-year-old Brian Criens.

Postman Stuart, 29, jumped into action after the fire alarm went off in the block of flats and bedsits on Sunday evening.

He went around to the back yard and spotted Mr Criens through the double glazed doors.

"I was banging on the reinforced glass doors trying to wake him up but he was slouched in the chair. My immediate thought was, I've got to get him out of there.

"I found a large block of sandstone in the yard and threw it against the window but it just bounced off. I realised I would have to keep hitting the window until it broke.

"Eventually it did and my arm went straight through the glass. Then Bob arrived on the scene put his hand through the hole and opened the catch of the door and we pulled him through."

Emergency crews arrived at the scene and Stuart was later treated for stitches to his left arm at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

"I don't consider myself a hero. The way I see it if someone is in danger I'll do anything to help them," added Stuart who is also a musician. Now he says he'll have to put his guitar playing on hold for a while.

This is not the first time he has rescued Mr Criens from a chip pan fire. He told the Citizen a similar accident happened just a couple of months ago.

Leading firefighter Steve Walker said: "Mr Criens was very lucky. The men's prompt actions probably saved his life."

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