A COUPLE have escaped with their lives thanks to the quick thinking actions of their next-door neighbour.
The pair were engulfed in their first floor flat, in Redcar, east Cleveland, when materials were pushed through the cat flap of a downstairs kitchen, setting light to black bags filled with old clothes and videotapes.
The flat filled with black acrid smoke, but neighbour Chris Kirk came to the rescue using a ladder from another neighbour's home, for them to climb to safety.
Redcar Station Officer Neal Jenkinson praised Mr Kirk's actions.
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