NEIGHBOURS who tried to save a man from his blazing home spoke today about losing a "one in a million" family friend.

Such is the effect of 38-year-old Neil Whalley's death that the family can no longer stay in their home in Blackburn Road, Darwen, and are planning to move.

Partners Carole Clark and Alexander Armour, both 52, and their 15-year-old son Jamil Ahmed Johnson, were praised by coroner Michael Singleton for their "heroic attempts" to save Neil.

Alexander said: "Neil was our best friend and he had been my drinking partner for around a year.

"We were so close that he had a key to the house and he would come in every single morning and make us a cup of tea.

"He had a reputation as an alcoholic but his heart was in the right place. He had a heart of gold and he would do anything for anyone."

Neil struck up a close friendship with teenager, Jamil, who cried for weeks after his death.

Mother Carole said: "Neil had a lot of childlike qualities and I'll always remember when they used to go to sleep they would bang on the walls to say goodnight. He even built a bonfire in his back garden for Jamil." Like his neighbours, Neil was a born-again Christian and spent a lot of time at the Hyndburn Christian Fellowship in Accrington.

Carole said: "People just didn't know him like we knew him. We are all devastated at losing him. We just can't bear to live here anymore because everything reminds us of him.

"We will never meet anyone like him or have a neighbour like him again. He was one in a million."

Jamil said the night of the fire will live with him forever.

"We had come back from seeing friends in Shadsworth at about 9.50pm and we saw our house was filled with smoke .

"At first we thought it was our house that was on fire so I went in because we have two dogs and a cat and I wanted to get them out."

Flames burst through Neil's window and Jamil and his father did their best to kick the door down.

Alexander said: "The door came down and flames literally blew us back. Carole was shouting and screaming for Neil to get out.

"We knew he was in there because, most of the time, he was either at home or round at ours."