HERO cops smashed the door of a blazing house and raced in to rescue two men trapped by the raging fire.

The brave bobbies sprang into action after an early morning emergency call came from a neighbour living near the property in St Martin's Road, Deepdale.

PCs Paul Barnes, 28, and Jason Moore, 26, arrived at the scene at 3am last Friday (February 14) thinking they were attending an attempted break-in.

Paul said: "When we got there we heard cries from the back of the house and rushed round to see a man leaning from an upstairs window shouting for help."

The pair smashed a pane of glass in the back door and climbed into the smoke-filled kitchen.

They found two men on the stairs and lead them out to safety just as the fire brigade arrived to tackle the blaze.

Jason said: "We didn't have time to think, we acted on instinct as we knew there was at least one person trapped and there could be more."

Preston's Acting Chief Inspector Warren Turner praised the rescuers.

He said: "Obviously anyone who goes into premises that are on fire and full of smoke should be commended for their actions."

The rescued men, John Morley and Paul McCabe, both in their early 30s, were taken to Royal Preston Hospital suffering from the effects of smoke but were later released.

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