Paul Lindsay went into the terraced house on Shirland Street, Chesterfield, THREE times to save the four-year-old boy and his two-year-old sister, before looking for anyone else trapped inside.

The brave 37-year-old had just returned from a night out with pals when he came across two girls who said they could smell smoke and hear a fire alarm sounding.

After working out where the alarm was coming from, he jumped over a fence and got into the house through an unlocked back door, before shouting to the children from the bottom of the stairs.

The doorman, said: "When I said 'little kiddies' the boy came out looking at the top of the stairs, so I ran up and grabbed him.

"I ran back down the stairs and put him in the jennel and then ran back upstairs.

"The little girl was just waking up in her bed and I said 'come here, you are going to be alright', grabbed her and brought her down the stairs. At the same time I was talking to the operator on my mobile phone.

"I was trying to hold my breath and get the kids out, but the smoke was that bad it was stinging my eyes and my chest."

Paul said the youngsters' 31-year-old aunt, who was in the front room, was alerted to the incident after hearing him shouting to the children. Firefighters rescued the children's 32-year-old mum after finding her lying on the kitchen floor.

Paul added: "My first thought was for the kids. I had no thought for my own personal safety.

"I just did what I had to do and would do it for anybody."

Unattended cooking materials are believed to have filled the house with smoke, but it is not thought the fire managed to catch hold.

Speaking of Paul's heroics, Andy Waldie, area manager for the brigade's north office, said: "It's not something we ordinarily advocate, but in the circumstances I would say that was very brave."

The family-of-four are now staying with friends after being treated at Chesterfield Royal Hospital for smoke inhalation, following Monday's incident at around 4.20am.