Three children were saved from their Thornton Heath home by a nearby garage worker after a fire broke out in their kitchen bin on Wednesday, May 9.

Unable to unlock the front door, the children retreated to an upstairs bedroom while their mother who had left the Bensham Grove house minutes earlier tried to reach them.

Bill Geddis, 36, was working in the garage opposite the house but rushed over with his ladder after hearing the children's screams.

The hero raced up the ladder to rescue three-year-old Aaron, his five-year-brother Kylan and 13-year-old Keesha.

Neighbour Tony Spencer broke down the door and tackled the fire with a fire extinguisher before Steven George put it out using a larger extinguisher.

The children were treated for smoke inhalation. A London fire brigade spokesman said: “It was only a small fire confined to one room but the smoke was enough to affect the three children in the premises.”