Two ambulance workers saved a man's life by pulling him out of a burning house in Abingdon during the early hours of yesterday.

Paramedics Andy Ball and Martyn Hawkins were called to John Mason Lodge, part of John Mason School in Wootton Road, after a member of the public reported the blaze.

When the crew arrived shortly after 2.15am, they looked through a window and saw a man collapsed on the floor with the carpet in flames around him.

The crew realised that the man was in grave danger as he did not appear to be conscious, and after calling for help from firefighters smashed a window and got into the house.

Mr Ball, 37, a father-of-two from Abingdon, told how Mr Hawkins climbed into the house and dragged the man to the window before they both hauled him out.

He said: "We had just finished another job in Abingdon so we were in the right place at the right time.

"We could see it was a matter of life or death if we had waited a few minutes for the fire service, the man would have been dead to be honest, because it was getting pretty hot in there.

"We tried to kick the door in but it was just too solid, so we smashed the window with an oxygen cylinder and Martin climbed in and grabbed him.

"The carpet was on fire and there was smoke all around so we knew there was no time to waste.

"We had just been treating a soldier at Dalton Barracks for a minor medical condition, and it was lucky we were so close or it could have been a different story."

Mr Hawkins, 45, a father-of-three from Didcot, added: "If we had left it another minute or two longer it would have been too late."

Helen Robinson, a spokesman for South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: "There is no doubt that Andy and Martyn saved this man's life and I'm sure they will be put forward for bravery awards."

When the paramedics tried to rouse the 37-year-old man, he eventually responded but was "combative", according to ambulance staff, and appeared unwilling to escape the smoke and flames.

Mr Ball and Mr Young, who are based in Didcot, were finally able to pull the man from the building and, with the help of Thames Valley Police, treated him for cuts and bruises before a second ambulance crew took him to the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford.

Ms Robinson added: "Without their quick actions, it's possible that the patient would have died from smoke inhalation. The crew sustained minor cuts and bruises and inhaled smoke but fortunately were not badly injured."

A spokesman for Oxfordshire Fire Service said crews from Abingdon located the start of the blaze in a bedroom, and the cause is being investigated. It is not being treated as arson.