A NEIGHBOUR burst through a fence to save a terrified pensioner and her dog as their Powick home went up in flames.

After forcing open the back door, Ken Roberts managed to guide 78-year-old Irene Pugh, who has only one leg, and her Labrador Penny, out of the burning bungalow at 1am this morning.

The distressed woman, who was not hurt, was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital suffering from shock following the late-night drama.

Sixty-year-old Mr Roberts ran to the sheltered accommodation building, in The Drive, after his wife saw smoke billowing past their window.

"We were lying in bed and Carole noticed what she thought was very low cloud going very fast," he said.

"I leaned out of the bedroom window and heard the old lady shouting.

"I couldn't get in the front so I broke down a fence and managed to guide her out of the back door."

His wife Carole praised her husband's actions.

"It's a good job he got there in time or she would be dead," she said.

Fire brigade spokesman Alec Mackie said when the fire crew arrived at the blaze, believed to have been started by a cigarette in the lounge, the house was an "inferno".

"It spread quickly through the bungalow causing severe damage," he said.

"There is a fire investigation team which will ascertain the cause.

"We can't confirm anything but there is a suspicion it may have been caused by a cigarette."