An elderly Oswestry woman was rescued from her burning home after quick-thinking neighbours called 999 after hearing her smoke alarm going off.

Hazel Jones, 80, who suffers from dementia and is hard of hearing, was in bed in the early hours of this morning unaware of the fire in her bathroom.

However, her smoke alarm alerted neighbours to the danger and they called the fire service.

Firefighters using breathing apparatus smashed down the door to Mrs Jones’ home in Queen Elizabeth Drive before escorting her from the property.

The fire broke out at about 1.20am.

Firefighters took Mrs Jones to a neighbour’s house until ambulance crews arrived.

The pensioner was then taken to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital as a precaution.

She is expected to be released later today.

Crew manager, Alan Walker, said it had been the teenage daughters of a neighbour who heard the smoke alarms.

“They went and woke their mum. She got out of bed, smelt smoke, heard the alarm herself and dialled 999,” he said.

Fantastic

Mrs Jones’s son Stephen today thanked firefighters for saving his elderly mother.

He said: “They did a fantastic job and I would like to thank them all.

“My mum suffers a bit from dementia and it seems she did not hear the smoke alarm. Her next door neighbours did and they called the fire service.

“I got a message at about 2.10am that there had been a fire and by the time I got there mum was out the property and had gone to hospital.

“The fire started in the bathroom when a toilet roll caught fire.

“I think she may have left her cigarette in there and then gone to bed.

“The neighbours were great. If they had not heard the smoke alarm it would have been a lot more serious.”

Incident commander Aubrey Thomas said the fire once again showed the importance of smoke alarms.

He said: “Our firefighters using breathing apparatus found the lady in her bed and led her to safety.”

By Iain St John