POLICE officer Dave Robinson was hailed a hero after he saved an elderly widow from her burning home yesterday.

PC Robinson, 32, responded to reports of a blaze in Victor Terrace, Chester-le-Street, County Durham.

He smashed his way into the house, then crawled through thick smoke searching for the 85-year-old woman, picked her up and carried her out.

Fire chiefs said the woman was minutes from death and was only saved by PC Robinson's swift actions.

Brian Smith, watch commander at High Handenhold fire station, near Chester-le-Street, said: "There is no doubt that this woman would have perished if this officer had not gone in.

"She only had minutes left to live at the most, because of the smoke."

Firefighters gave oxygen to the woman, who lives alone, and paramedics took her to Durham's University Hospital, where she was treated for smoke inhalation, burns to her face and cuts to her feet.

PC Robinson, a former RAF dog handler, was also taken to hospital for checks.

The incident took place at about 10.30am yesterday. A neighbour phoned the emergency services after hearing a fire alarm and seeing smoke.

PC Robinson, who is married and lives in South Tyneside, was the first on the scene.

He looked through the letterbox and could not see anything, so ran to the back.

Using his truncheon, he smashed the glass in the back door, unlocked it from the inside and went in.

Faced with dense smoke, he crawled on his hands and knees to the living room, following the cries of the woman.

He found her huddled on a sofa, picked her up and walked out of the house.

Firefighters who attended the scene and extinguished the flames have put his name forward for a letter of appreciation from the brigade.

Chief Inspector Dave Hogg, of Durham Police, said: "Had the officer not acted as promptly and courageously as he did, this lady could well have died."

Investigators believe the blaze was caused by a cigarette that was discarded in a waste paper basket. This caught fire and quickly spread to nearby furniture.