FIRE hero David Johnston has told a court how the horror of the night he braved a fire to rouse other tenants in the Crewe flats where he lived still haunts him.

Knutsford Crown Court was told that Mr Johnston dashed upstairs through flames and smoke to alert other tenants after a fire was deliberately set in the hallway of the block in Edleston Road, Crewe in February this year.

Stephen Everett, prosecuting, said Mr Johnston, who suffered burns and cuts, rang 999 and went upstairs to wake fellow residents, but two of them were not able to get downstairs and were rescued by the fire brigade.

"It could have ended in death if it had not been for Mr Johnston raising the alarm," he said.

David Christopher Smith, aged 25, formerly of Edleston Road now of no fixed abode, has pleaded not guilty to a count of arson reckless over the danger to life and property.

The jury was told the fire, which caused £15,000 worth of damage, was started in old furniture in the hallway of the flats by Smith who had been drinking that night after claiming his girlfriend was cheating on him and being rejected by another woman.

He had also complained about the furniture piled in the hallway outside the entrance to his flat and said it was a fire hazard. Later traces of paint thinner, which could be used to start a fire, were found on his clothing.

Another resident, Heidi Haycocks, said she had escaped from the house with her own dog and Mr Johnston's when he went to warn other residents.

While she was outside she saw Smith peering through the curtains of his flat although they had banged on his door to warn him of the fire. He was eventually rescued by the fire brigade.

The case proceeds.

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