A BOY was last night fighting for his life after a blaze swept through his home as he enjoyed a holiday lie-in.

Jacob Porteous was rescued by firefighters who found him semi-conscious in bed at about 9am yesterday after a fire began in a downstairs utility room.

The 11-year-old was carried from the house in Greenville Road, Thornaby, near Stockton, and rushed by ambulance to The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough.

He was then airlifted to a specialist burns unit at the Hull and East Riding Hospital, where he was last night in a critical condition.

Jacob’s mother, Debbie Porteous had let her son enjoy a lie-in while she went to a nearby shop, telling neighbour Kathleen Beaumont where she was going.

As Mrs Beaumont settled down to watch television with her daughter, she heard a loud bang and saw smoke billowing from the windows of the Porteous’ house.

“I tried to go inside and I was met with a wall of smoke,” she said. “It was so intense I couldn’t fight my way in so I ran back home and called 999.”

Mrs Beaumont said Mrs Porteous, who lives with her husband Paul and Jacob, had gone to Asda, in the Pavilion shopping centre, a fiveminute walk away.

Mrs Beaumont said: “I sent my older daughter over to tell her what had happened. Debbie was devastated. She could hardly breath and was given oxygen by paramedics and then taken to James Cook to be with her son.

“They are a lovely family.

The only thing Debbie can think that caused the fire was the washing machine which was on when she went out.”

Sean Smith, crew manager of Blue Watch at Thornaby Fire Station, said the rescue had been a team effort. The boy was handed to him at the back of the house and laid on a protective sheet.

Steve Owens, station fire manager at Thornaby, said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the fire, but confirmed it was not being treated as suspicious.

He commended the two fire crews from Thornaby and one from Middlesbrough who tackled the blaze.

“This was a very severe fire.

They did a fantastic job in finding and rescuing the individual in the time they did,”

he said.