A man is today being hailed a hero after leading a mother and her two-year-old son to safety in a daring escape from a blazing house.

The three were trapped upstairs by 'horrendously thick smoke' as the drama unfolded at 1am yesterday, at South Wootton, near King's Lynn.

The man, who was staying with the mother and son, showed quick thinking to get through a first-floor window, on to the roof of the porch then to jump 10ft to the ground.

In a dramatic twist, he stood below the porch and caught the toddler, who was thrown into his arms by his mother, who then jumped down to safety.

The incident began when the man was woken by a smoke alarm as he slept downstairs. He rushed upstairs to alert the woman and her child, who was screaming, to the danger. After the escape, the three were taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn suffering from smoke inhalation.

A neighbour, who did not wish to be named, called the fire service after hearing the smoke alarm and the toddler screaming.

She said: 'There was a plastic/chemical smell coming through the wall and we heard someone banging on the window to get out. When we went outside the woman was halfway hanging out the window. They got down on the porch roof and the baby was thrown to the person on the ground. The man was a hero.'

King's Lynn fire station manager Grant Cotterell said the blaze had started in the kitchen, setting the smoke alarm off. He said: 'The alarm woke up a man sleeping downstairs in the living room. He went upstairs to wake up a lady and a two-year-old child. They could not get back downstairs because of the horrendously thick smoke. They could also not find the keys to the front door.'

He added: 'The man and woman carrying the child climbed out of an upstairs window. I don't know what height it was from the window to the ground below, but it was far enough. But none of them suffered injuries.

'There are a few safety messages to get out there. Don't leave cooked food unattended and keep your keys by the door in case you need to escape. If the smoke alarm had not gone off, it could have been a lot worse.'

Three crews from King's Lynn attended the fire, in Burghley Road.

Do you know the people involved? Call David Bale on 01553 778680.