Mother Susan Burford said she was “very, very proud” of her son, who carried his sister from her bedroom into his own, covering her face with a sock.

The 26-year-old also thanked her partner Jason Evason after he got the children out of the burning house at Wantage,  in Woodside, Telford, yesterday at about 4.45am.

“Luis was absolutely amazing, he was so brave,” she said. “My partner went back into the house once he got me out and he doesn’t know if he would have been able to get them both out of the house if they had been in separate bedrooms. We’ve lost everything. I’m absolutely devastated but Luis saved Whitney’s life without a doubt.”

Fire rescue hero Luis is pictured with his grateful sister Whitney after their ordeal. Once the pair were inside Luis’s room, the youngster shut the door to keep the smoke out and dragged his sister to the window. The Woodlands Primary School pupil was woken by a smoke alarm and the smell of smoke filling the house.

He said: “I went into Whitney’s room and I couldn’t see anything because of how thick the smoke was. I was going along slowly with my arms out to feel for her and I went as quick as I could into her room.

“When I found her I picked her up and I carried her into my room so she wouldn’t hurt herself. I put an Aston Villa sock over her mouth and nose and an Aston Villa shirt over my mouth and nose.

“I put her on to my bed, opened the window and put her head out of the window so she could get some fresh air. I’ve done health and safety at school and I remembered it.”

Whitney said she was very proud of her big brother and was delighted that firefighters rescued the family dog Tootsie.

Police said the cause of the fire was being investigated and they were treating the incident as suspicious. The family suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital.

By Deborah Collins

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