A FATHER has paid an emotional tribute to an heroic neighbour who rescued his two daughters from a blazing pub.

Doug Smith, 23, sprang into action when he spotted the fire at the New Inn in Long Street, Easingwold, and saw landlord Steve Reel’s children hanging from an upstairs window.

Together with a friend and Steve, Doug raced the top floor and helped Leah, 12, and Azarhn, 15, to safety, tucking one of the girls under his arm.

On his last trip in an attempt to save the families dogs, Doug could not see or breathe and was bent over double as he struggled to cope with the thick black smoke.

Doug, who lives opposite the pub, said: “All I could think was to get them out. That was the only thing on my mind.” When firefighters arrived at the property, the children were safely out, along with landlord Steve and his wife, Sally.

Steve, 33, said: “I don’t know what would have happened if Doug had not been there. In fact I dread to think – we could have all died. He saved us all.”

Doug and his friend, Ollie Lewis, of Stillington, raised the alarm at about 3.20am on Saturday, while they were heading home.

Doug said: “We saw smoke and noticed two girls hanging from a second floor window.

“We started banging on the front door and shouted that the place was on fire. Steve opened the fire exit and I ran up the stairs to find the girls.

“They seemed very frightened and we dragged them downstairs, then once they were out of the building the three of us went to where the blaze started, in the kitchen, grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to put it out.

“But the pressure from the fire was too strong. We were later told by the fire service that if we had managed to get into the kitchen, the backdraft would have killed us all.

“I’m just glad we could help and the girls got out safely.”

The family’s 20-week-old Labrador puppy and two terrapins died in the fire, but firefighters managed to rescue the family’s other two dogs.

Steve said: “Doug was absolutely unbelievable.

“When he came into the pub the next day, the girls just ran up to him and threw their arms around him and gave him cuddles.

“My wife, Sally, was too shaken up to say anything, but she is immensely grateful. We owe him everything.

“The girls are still a bit shaken-up and obviously very sad they lost their little puppy.

“But the puppy’s mum and dad are still alive and the family are all safe and well. At the end of the day, that is the main thing.”

The fire, which caused severe smoke damage to the first and second floors, but left the pub’s main area relatively unscathed, is thought to have been caused by an electrical fault.

The pub reopened the following day after friends and the Easingwold community rallied round in a clean-up operation.