Schoolboy hailed a hero

Witnesses believe 15-year-old Carl McKenna saved the motorist's life after he chased the burning van - which was carrying a gas cylinder - before dragging the driver out of the vehicle.

The teenager was helping build a footpath in Kidlington while on work experience with local firm Drayton Construction when he noticed flames shooting out from beneath the back of the van.

He tried to stop the vehicle by waving his arms and shouting, but the driver failed to notice him and carried on up Evans Lane.

Realising the danger, the youngster ran after the van and banged on the window - pulling the driver to safety moments before the vehicle was engulfed in flames.

Carl, of Steventon Road, Drayton, said: "We were working and this car came around the corner and we could see that the bottom of the engine was on fire.

"I thought it was going to blow up.

"I just put my hand out and shouted 'Stop'.

"I ran up the road after him and opened the door and said 'Get out now, your van is on fire'.

"I just started shouting at him to get out. I could see the fire getting bigger underneath him. I opened the door and I pulled him out.

"We both stepped back. There were a few bangs because you could hear the tyres pop which was quite loud. You could hear the fuel tank go up.

"He had a massive gas canister in the back which the firemen said could have blown half the street up.

"The flames were massive. I was shocked."

Carl, a pupil at John Mason School, in Abingdon, said the vehicle probably would have exploded with the man still in it if he hadn't rescued him - causing serious injuries or even death.

John Curtis, a site foreman at Drayton Construction, said: "He just grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out.

"Within seconds of pulling him out, it just went up like an inferno.

"The firemen said if the gas canister had caught fire, it would have been like a bomb going off.

"It was extremely brave of him. He definitely put himself in danger to pull the man out of the van. It would have exploded any minute.

"Carl would do anything for anyone. It doesn't surprise me. He kept his wits about him."

Witness Mike Rhymes, of Mill End, Kidlington, said a crowd of villagers watched the dramatic rescue.

Mr Rhymes said: "The fire brigade was there very shortly afterwards and it took quite a time to get the flames out.

"It was so intense it burned the road underneath it."

Carl's mum Debbie, 37, said: "He's done really well. We are very proud of him.

"We have been told he saved the man's life.

"He is definitely a hero."