Pensioner Anthony Harris owes his life to firefighters.

The firemen from Slade Park Fire Station, Oxford, braved the thick, acrid smoke which engulfed his flat to drag him out and treated him for the effects of smoke.

Mr Harris, 67, of Potters Court, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, had tried to put out the chip pan fire in his flat but was overcome by smoke.

He was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford,

Sub officer Paul Waknell said: "When we got there, the flat was full of thick, acrid smoke. We crawled in underneath the smoke and kicked the door in.

We just grabbed him by his shoes and dragged him out into fresh air. "Then another crew went in to clear the flat of the smoke.

"We gave Mr Harris immediate oxygen treatment.

"Paramedics then rushed him off to the John Radcliffe Hospital for tests and other treatment. He was a very lucky man.

"We're just glad the alarms at Potters Court went off so fast and got us out there." He said their actions were "just routine".

With Sub Officer Waknell were firefighters Mike Swadling, David Haycock, Steve Aldridge and Richard West.