A QUICK-thinking Littlemore resident has been praised by the fire service for dragging his neighbour to safety from her burning flat.

The woman was trapped behind a locked door at the bottom of her stairs inside the building in Cowley Road when the man smashed its window and pulled her through.

It later emerged a battery had been removed from the smoke alarm. The incident is not being treated as suspicious.

A blaze broke out inside the flat at about 7pm on Wednesday while the woman was in the bath.

She called 999 and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service reassured her until she was rescued.

Paramedics from the South Central Ambulance Service took her away to treat the cuts to her hands and smoke inhalation.

Smoke was seen billowing out of the property and flames at the windows when two fire engines, from Slade and Rewley Road fire stations, arrived.

The flames were blasted with a high-pressure hose to stop the fire spreading to the rest of the flat and engulfing neighbouring properties.

Fire service watch manager Shaun Betts said: “The actions of the neighbour were quick-thinking and brave.”

He added that every household should have a fire plan which includes escape routes and keys readily available for exit doors.

“Smoke alarms are the easiest way to alert everyone in the house to the danger of fire, giving you precious time for you and your loved ones to escape,” he said.