Hero postman helps to save 96-year-old woman from house fire

Abiodun Shamusideen Adigun has been hailed a hero after helping to rescue a 96-year-old woman from a house fire.

Mr Adigun, known as Addy, was doing his rounds as a postman in Rochdale when he spotted the blaze that had trapped Doris Clarke in her home.

The pensioner, who lives with her son, couldn’t find her keys and was beginning to panic as the fire was taking hold in the front room of her Milnrow home.

Quick-thinking Addy called the fire brigade before attempting to break down Mrs Clarke’s door shortly after 2pm on Wednesday 6 April.

The 51-year-old enlisted the help of neighbours but they struggled to free Mrs Clarke.

Firefighters arrived shortly afterwards and rescued her after breaking in through an upstairs window.

Addy said: “It was a quiet day and nobody was around. There was no one to rescue her so I knocked on some neighbours’ doors but we couldn’t break the door down.

“If I wasn’t around the woman would have died.

“Her daughter and son called my office and gave their thanks and I was given a £70 reward from work. All my colleagues have been calling me a hero.

“I’ve been back to check up on her.

“I always deliver her mail and she always waves at me. I hate to think what would have happened if I hadn’t walked past when I did.”

Mrs Clarke was taken to hospital after the blaze in Moorland Avenue, which started in the front room after a rug was left too close to a gas fire, but was uninjured and did not suffer from any long-term effects.

Her daughter Ann Wallbutton (71), from Lancaster, has been staying with her since the incident.

She said: “My brother lives with her but he was at work.

“The fire wasn’t very big, but she had lost the key and couldn’t get out.

“She’s absolutely fine now.

"Addy is lovely. He’s always cheery and friendly. He pops his head round the window every day to check on her. He’s her little hero and she always waves to him.

“We’re so grateful to him and he’s such a lovely guy. He was just doing his job and we just want to say a great big thank-you for what he did.”