A family praised their neighbours today for helping to save them from a fire which caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Les and Janette (correct) Pike say the blaze at their house in Sandy Lane, Cholsey, would have spread throughout the first floor if retired firefighter Terence Walsh and his son Terry had not spotted it and come to the rescue with two fire extinguishers.

The fire wrecked the bedroom of Mrs Pike's son, Kevin, who was in bed when it broke out.

The blaze would have been worse if Mr Walsh, 68, and his 46-year-old son - who both spotted the blaze from the garden of their home in nearby Brentford Close - had not rushed over.

Mrs Pike was downstairs at the time and ran outside with Kevin, 25, while Mr Pike, who had been in bed, went out of the back of the house with the two dogs, Tammy and Ben.

The fire late on Saturday (Sept 5) night, happened two days before security van driver Mr Pike's 51st birthday (NOTE-It is today - Monday Sept 7). "They were were really good. They were brilliant," said Mrs Pike, 48, a pyrotechnic inspector at Martin-Baker (correct) in Chalgrove, which makes cartridges for aircraft ejector seats.

"If they hadn't done what they did, the fire could have gone right the way across the upstairs.

"There wouldn't have been much of the upstairs left."

She added: "The first I knew about the fire was when Kevin came to the top of the stairs screaming 'Mum, there's a fire in my room.'

"I said 'Don't be stupid' but then I saw it. I tried to call 999 but the phone was dead. Someone had already called a fire crew, though."

Mr Terry, who lives in France and was visiting his parents, said: "My wife Victoria was drawing my attention to smoke coming out of the window when this almighty explosion blew it straight out.

"I ran into the house and went straight upstairs to shut the bedroom door. I went back to grab some fire extinguishers while my father dialled 999."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.