A QUICK-thinking young boy has spoken of the moment he helped to save an elderly man from a house fire.

Eagle-eyed Edward Tull, eight, was arriving home to Burnt Oak, Dursley in the car with his mum when he spotted smoke coming from the roof of a home.

He quickly alerted mum Rachael who called 999 before rushing into the property and rescuing the 89-year-old householder - a man who uses a wheelchair and who also has hearing problems.

Firefighters arrived soon afterwards and were able to contain the fire in the loft - however the property was still badly damaged and the occupant was moved into a care home.

Cam Everlands Primary pupil Edward told the Gazette how the drama unfolded around 11am last Monday, August 12.

(Image: UGC)

“I could see smoke but at first I thought it was a bonfire in the garden but then I realised it was coming from the roof,” said Edward, who added that he had learnt about fire safety at school.

“I was a bit worried when I saw my mum go over to the house and go inside.

“I was so pleased when I saw her and the man coming down the steps.”

Mum Rachael, 42, who runs the Oscars childcare service at the British School in Wotton-under-Edge, took up the story.

“The smoke did look like it was coming from the roof,” she said.

“I went over to the driveway for a closer look and it was coming out from under the tiles.

“I immediately thought there must be something going on in the loft.”

After calling the emergency services, she knocked on the door along with her other son William, 14.

“It took a long time for the man to come to the door because he had a walking frame,” she explained.

“As I was knocking, I could hear the crackle of fire above in the roof.”

When the man answered the door, he appeared to have ash on his shoulder.

“He couldn’t come out of the front door because there are too many steps so we had to go through the house and out of the back door into the back garden,” said Rachael.

“As I was walking through with him a bit of the ash substance dripped on my hands and a bit dripped on my head.

“I’ve got a small burn on my hand.

“Inside the house, I could smell smoke and hear burning from above and I could see ash on the carpet.”

She raced back inside to get the man’s wheelchair and with the help of a neighbour managed to get him to to safety.

“The neighbour ran up because she saw my boys were out on the drive and she helped me get him down the last two steps,” said Rachael.

The fire brigade then arrived.

“They had to soak the whole roof,” she said.

“The house needs a new roof because all the rafters were burnt.

“The ceiling started to cave in because of all the water used to extinguish the flames.”

According to Rachael, fire crews said the blaze was caused by a combination of an electrical fault and the warm weather.

Rachael and husband Matt are full of praise for their sons.

“It was Edward who noticed the fire while William was very calm and helpful and held an umbrella for the man while we were outside to keep the sun off him.

“He also directed the fire crew to the house.

“If Edward hadn’t raised the alarm we could have quite easily gone home and I might not have noticed the fire.”

Two fire engines, one from Stroud, the other from Tetbury, attended and left the scene around 1pm.