An off-duty firefighter has been hailed a hero following the dramatic rescue of a pensioner from a blazing property fire in Tenby.

Lee Simmons, a retained firefighter at Tenby Fire Station, and a Community Fire Safety Officer at Pembrokeshire County Command Headquarters, was the first at the scene of the house fire, after noticing the flames and entering the property himself to recover the elderly occupant.

Lee spotted the fire in Newell Hill at around 2 pm on Saturday. He entered the smoke logged property, found the elderly and partially disabled occupant, and brought him out safely.

He instructed neighbours to call the fire service. When two fire appliances from Tenby Fire Station arrived, they were faced with a severe fire in the living room. Crews wearing breathing apparatus successfully extinguished the blaze using a hose reel jet.

Lee said: "I was making my way home when I noticed smoke coming out of the house, and I could tell straight away that it wasn't a chimney fire.

"I know the elderly man who lives at the address, so I entered the house and pushed my way into the living room because some things had fallen against the door. The fire was already well developed by then, with flames up to the roof and coming across the ceiling causing the plastic ceiling tiles to melt.

"I looked through the smoke and found the occupant where he had fallen on the floor in the corner. I put my hands under his arms, and dragged him out to the front door. I saw the neighbours in the street and asked them to call the fire service straight away."

Pembrokeshire County Commander Steve Bryant said: "Lee Simmons is a credit to the service, and his behaviour is characteristic of the sort of quick-thinking and bravery exhibited by our staff. His rapid and courageous response was instrumental in stopping this serious house fire from becoming even more catastrophic.

"Lee is a professional firefighter, and members of the public should never copy his actions by going into a burning building. They should call 999 to alert the fire service straight away."

Station manager David John said: "Well done to Lee for reacting so quickly to this incident, which could have been much worse without his intervention. Lee, and the on-call crews who arrived within minutes to put out the fire, are committed and vigilant firefighters who are never really off-duty."