David Fyles and Ray Woabank crawled through thick smoke before dragging the unconscious man to safety.

Last night (Tuesday), the man - known only as Jack - was critically ill in hospital.

The two men were forced to break down the door to the man's bungalow in Meadow Avenue, Goostrey, on Wednesday afternoon after spotting the fire.

"Three rooms of the house were not affected by the fire when we got there," said Mr Fyles. "But Jack was in the fourth room and we had no choice but to go in and get him."

They found him unconscious on the floor.

"At that stage I just thought he was dead," said Mr Fyles, a medical research doctor.

"He had burns to his face, hands and chest but we gave him oxygen until the ambulance arrived."

Jack was taken to Leighton Hospital where last night he was critically ill in intensive care.

"We still don't know if he will pull through and some people may think it was a stupid thing to do," said Mr Fyles.

"But in a situation like that you don't have time to think and just go on instinct."