TWO hero neighbours have been praised for rescuing a woman who was trapped in a burning house.

The pair, Jason Rock and Sean Hearnshaw, ran to help the woman after smoke was spotted billowing from her mid-terraced home in Wyke Regis, Weymouth.

They sprinted down an alleyway leading to the back of the property, yesterday afternoon, where she was calling for help from an upstairs window.

As Sean, 25, climbed on to a nearby flat roof to comfort the woman, Jason kicked in the back door and led her to safety.

Minutes later the downstairs front room was devastated by fire.

Thankfully, the shocked victim – a middle-aged woman believed to live alone – was uninjured.

Jason, a 38-year-old Royal Mail worker said: “When we got to the back of the house she was hanging out of the upstairs window.

“She looked pretty frightened so we just got her out of there.”

Sean added: “The fire was really intense at the front of the house.”

Weymouth fire station manager Phil Head praised the efforts of the quick-thinking pair.

He said: “The efforts of the neighbours prevented us from having to save the woman.”

And passers-by also paid paid tribute to the two men.

Mark Anthony said: “I was just passing when I heard a lot of yelling and saw the smoke coming from the house. I saw two guys run in to the house and they came back out with the woman. It was a very brave thing to do.

“I’m not sure I would have run into a burning house.”

Firefighters said that two Jack Russell dogs were also rescued from the property.

The pets, Dudley and Dylan, were found by firefighters unconscious inside the smouldering house.

Mr Head said: “They had been overcome by smoke, but were rescued and given oxygen.

“It was impressive work by the guys to resuscitate the dogs, as they were out for a long time. Its very unusual for animals to survive a fire like this.”

After coming around the dogs were given some water and given the once over by a vet.

It is believed the fire started in the lounge of the 1940s terrace.

Mr Head said: “The woman had gone upstairs for a lie down. She actually could smell smoke, but thought it was coming from outside. She thought it was a bonfire, but then realised her house was on fire. “Unfortunately, the woman did not have a working smoke alarm in the property.

“If she had one, she would have been alerted to the danger much more quickly,” said Mr Head.

The downstairs of the property, in Downclose, was gutted by fire and upstairs significantly damaged by smoke.

The rescued woman was too shocked to talk about the incident as she recovered yesterday.

Fire officers are now investigating how the blaze started and why it burned so intensely.

It is the second fire to hit Weymouth in two days.

Several residents had to be evacuated from a block on flats off Wyke Road when a blaze broke out in the top floor apartment.

Firefighters arrived on scene within a minute of the 999 call being received and no one was injured.