FIRE services have praised the actions of neighbours who saved an 18-year-old man from a house fire in Thornaby.

Alert neighbours pulled the teenager through a bathroom window at the ground-floor flat in Blackbush Walk, in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The young man, who is believed to have fallen asleep while smoking, was dragged to safety and resuscitated by fire crews.

He was taken to North Tees Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.

A neighbour said he was alerted to the danger after hearing a smoke alarm going off shortly after midnight.

The 41-year-old man, who did not wish to be named, said: "At first I thought it was a car alarm, so I decided to go out and have a look.

"It was then I saw the curtains on fire and ran across to see if there was anyone inside."

Accompanied by his girlfriend, the man tried to kick the front door down and, after making contact with the teenager, was able to drag him through the narrow bathroom window with the help of a second neighbour.

He said: "He was in a bad way by then from all the smoke and was losing consciousness.

"Fortunately, the fire crews arrived and got him breathing again. In a situation like that, you just react. I didn't have time to get scared."

Three fire crews were called to the incident from Middlesbrough and Thornaby.

Station manager Keith Reid, from Middlesbrough Fire Brigade, said: "The quick thinking of the neighbours certainly saved this young man's life, as did the fact that there was a fire alarm fitted - which alerted the neighbours in the first place."

The teenager called his father from a mobile phone after being awoken by the noise of the fire alarm.

His father, who lives in Hartlepool, called the fire service before rushing to the scene.

Police confirmed they were not treating the fire as suspicious.