FIREFIGHTERS battled along icy roads to save a man and his dog from a burning village pub, early on Saturday morning.

Fire crews were called shortly before 4am to the Catherine Wheel pub in Drayton St Leonard.

Villagers said the pub’s 72-year-old landlord Charlie Healey had attempted to put out a fire in the inn’s kitchen. The blaze caused smoke damage throughout the building and caused part of the ceiling to collapse.

He was rescued by fire fighters from a first floor window. Neighbours said he was uninjured, but shocked.

Firemen re-entered the pub to rescue his white alsatian Liz, which was cowering under the stairs in the smoke.

Neighbour Bob Moore said: “Smoke was billowing out of the windows. The firefighters were absolutely brilliant.

“Charlie’s a really nice old boy, and everyone in the village is devastated for him. He heard the alarm going off, and tried to put out the fire himself.”

Villager Charles Dickerson, 66, said: “Everyone knows Charlie, and he’s a really nice guy. It was because of him that the village still had a pub.”

Crews from Abingdon, Watlington and Wallingford attended.

A spokesman for the fire service said: “The smoke alarm almost certainly saved Mr Healey’s life.”