A MAN who plunged into a blazing house three times to save his girlfriend's children has been hailed a hero by firefighters.

The man, believed to be in his late 20s, went back into the house to grab the children aged seven, six and about ten months, after a fire broke out in a bedroom.

The fire service was last night still investigating the cause of the blaze in the end terrace house at Raby Road in Hartlepool.

The man and the three children were taken to Hartlepool General Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation following the fire which broke out at about 8.20pm last night.

Steve Harll, watch manager at Hartlepool Fire Station, said: "I would definitely say his actions were heroic, he was very brave.

"We initially got the call saying there were three children trapped and then we got a message from him while we were on our way there to say he had got two of them out.

"Then when we got there we found he had got the third one out.

"He did a fantastic job, it is not necessarily what we would advise people to do but he has gone in there and done it.

"He and the children were taken to hospital, I think he has got most of the smoke inhalation going backwards and forwards.

"When we got there the smoke alarms were sounding so I don't know whether it was those or one of the children who have alerted him and the mother.

"But it again shows the value of having smoke alarms fitted."

There was fire damage to the bedroom and smoke damage to the remainder of the first floor of the house.

Mr Harll said any homeowner who would like a free fire safety check and smoke alarms fitted should contact Hartlepool Fire headquarters on 01429 872 311.