Neighbours braved 'popping canisters' as they pulled a 12 stone dog to safety while flames ripped through a garden in Stapleford. The dog had been inside a house when a fire took hold of a garden outside.
One neighbour in particular - who wishes to remain anonymous - leapt into action with another resident to rescue the American Akita from the house of a friend. Recalling what happened, she said: "The fire got really high, I think she [the friend who lives in the property] had gas canisters there, and the flames were higher than the house, there was a lot of stuff built up back there, too.
"She's only really got access out the back of her house, but me and a friend ran around the front because we needed to get her dog out. It's an American Akita that weighs about 12 stone but we managed to get around the front and pulled him out. As we were doing that, we could hear what sounded like petrol or gas canisters popping in the back garden."
