AN off-duty firefighter pulled a man trapped in a burning car to safety just minutes before flames engulfed the vehicle.

Alex Sugden jumped into action after seeing smoke coming from a car which had flipped on its side and caught fire on Monday afternoon.“The car had flipped on to the driver’s side, trapping the man inside, “ said Alex, “There were around four people around him attempting to get him out.

“There was at the time a small fire in the engine, I went round to the boot and fortunately it was unlocked. I asked him if he could move and he was able to shuffle round.

“The fire at the time was only small but fire spreads quickly if there is nothing to extinguish it and within minutes it was fully developed.”

The 43-year-old, was driving back from the Great Harwood Show with his family — wife Sarah, Lawrence, aged nine and Elizabeth, aged eight — when he spotted the accident in Whalley Old Road, Blackburn at around 3.30pm.

The Bolton News:

HERO: Alex Sugden

Knowing how fire develops rapidly, Alex knew he had to act fast. But despite his heroic actions, Alex, who lives with his family in Sharples, doesn’t think he is a hero.

“I’m just glad I had the skills to help. I have been on many road traffic accidents and usually you have your crew and equipment. I was just happy to help,” he said.

He led the driver to a safe place and sat him down until paramedics arrived to check him over.

Alex said: “The air bags went off and he was wearing his seatbelt. He had injuries to his face.”

Fire crews tackled the blaze, which destroyed the car.

Alex went back to his family, where he was quizzed by his children about what he did and what happened — before starting his night shift at Leigh the same evening, where is a watch manager of the technical response unit.

Whalley Old Road was closed to traffic for several hours, as emergency services dealt with the incident, which

A police spokesman said: “Luckily the driver was pulled from the car so he did not suffer any serious injuries, it could have been a lot worse.

“We had several reports of flames and smoke being seen from the accident.”

A spokesman from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Two fire engines from Blackburn and Darwen attended a road traffic collision involving one vehicle that was on fire. Firefighters used two hose reels to extinguish the fire. One person was treated at the scene by paramedics.”