Barking dogs save sleeping couple from North Cockerington house fire

A man who escaped a house fire with his partner after being woken by their two dogs barking has said the pair of German shepherds saved their lives.

Stephen Clover said the couple were asleep in their home on Louth Road in North Cockerington, Lincolnshire, when the blaze started at about 02:00 GMT.

He said the fire "completely gutted" his property, but Bear and Tigger's barks meant they got out safely.

He added that the dogs would be getting "a bigger bone tonight" as a reward.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service said it sent crews from eight stations to tackle the blaze, which started in two gas cylinders in a campervan parked alongside the house.

Mr Clover said he and his partner were asleep when one of the dogs "came charging through and jumped on the bed and started barking at me".

"I thought 'there's somebody about', so I just jumped out of bed and looked out the front window," he said.

He said "ash and sparks" were coming past the window and he "obviously realised there's a fire".

He said he saw the campervan was alight and dashed from the property, but the dogs were then trapped inside the house.

"I went back in to get them and... suddenly the patio doors exploded, and in came the flames and smoke," he said.

"The fumes were really toxic and I couldn't breathe, so I had to come out."

Firefighters then arrived at the scene and managed to rescue the two dogs.

Mr Clover said Bear was "really suffering and struggling to breathe", but was told by vets he would recover, while Tigger was relatively unscathed.

"It's definitely down to the dogs that I'm here, so I will get them a bigger bone tonight," he added.

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