Hero reveals moment he desperately tried to save couple from house blaze that killed man, 51, as family pay tribute

A HERO neighbour has relived the horror moment he tried to pull a couple from their burning bedroom before the man tragically died.

Brave binman Daniel Brettle kicked down the door in a desperate attempt to save the pair - with cops arresting a teen girl, 18, over the suspected arson attack.

Police believe the blaze was started deliberately in the first floor front bedroom at the terraced home in Tipton, near Dudley, West Mids, on Tuesday evening.

Police today confirmed that Jason Hickinbottom died in the blaze, with an 18-year-old girl arrested over the blaze released on bail.

Paying tribute to the 51-year-old, his family said: "There are no words that our family can use to describe the sadness and grief we feel at this time."

And neighbour Daniel Brettle told The Sun Online he had tried to save Jason from the horrific blaze.

Daniel, 34, reliving his ordeal, said: “I heard a commotion and came out of my house to see the next door on fire.

"Me and my pal on the other side both jumped up onto the flat roof above the porch to try and save the mum inside.

There are no words that our family can use to describe the sadness and grief we feel at this time.

Hickinbottom familyPaying tribute to Jason, 51, who died in the blaze

“While my pal smashed the window with metal bar I jumped back down and kicked the front door in. I raced up the stairs and by this time a policeman who had been passing by had joined me. 

“I only had shorts and vest on and I wrapped a T-shirt around my face. I risked my life but I wasn't scared.

"You just do what you have to do to help. I would do the same for any one of my neighbours."

KICKED DOWN DOOR

The dad-of-three, who works as refuge collector for Dudley Council, said: “I got to the bedroom door and it was locked. I kicked it in instinctively but as soon as it was open the fire battered us back. 

“We couldn't get in the room. The fire was lethal, there was no humidity and we had to retreat. The police officer thanked me for my efforts and I thanked him, we had just bounced off each other.

“I’m sorry the man lost his life and we couldn't save him. I didn't know him but it’s very sad.

“I know the woman to say hello to and I've heard she's on the mend which is good.”

He told how the family’s Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Hardy also perished in the inferno.

Daniel said: “I used to help look after the dog when the mum was busy. We had a bond, he was a friend and I was sorry that he was lost in the fire. He was an innocent one.

“I asked the officers if I could have his body to bury in my garden and they allowed me to take him. We gave him a little send off.

“I’m OK, I’m not injured but I feel emotionally distraught.”

I only had shorts and vest on and I wrapped a T-shirt around my face. I risked my life but I wasn't scared.

Daniel Brettle

Daniel said his home and neighbouring properties in the terraced row had been checked by fire safety officers and none had been structurally or smoke damaged.

Another local said: “What’s happened is shocking, we can't believe it. We hope the mum, who we know and has lived here for years, pulls through. We don’t know the man who died but have heard that he was her new partner.

“The mum’s dad lives around the corner and he is heartbroken.

“We’re lucky the fire didn’t blast the whole row of houses, it’s bad enough but it could have been so much worse.”

One neighbour told how the distraught mum escaped by climbing down a curtain which was dangling from her bedroom window, saying: “It was her only way out and she was helped by firefighters landing on the little flat roof over the front door.”

West Midlands Police said a man in his 50s was pronounced dead at the scene after being rescued from the house in Tame Road shortly after 8.10pm on Tuesday.

A woman in her 30s was rescued and taken to hospital in Dudley, suffering with smoke inhalation.