HOUSE fires are very rarely a source of any good news, however two men from Sherston helped buck that trend last week.

James Pyle, 49, and Mark Andrews, 53, were in the village’s Rattlebone pub on Monday evening for a photography meeting when a lady burst in asking for help in putting out a fire which was threatening to destroy her home across the road.

Some may have hesitated when faced with a potentially life-threatening situation, but the two men burst into action and they held back the fire for long enough for the fire service to arrive and extinguish it completely.

This kind of selfless bravery shows a fantastic sense of community and human decency to want to help someone in need and it could well have saved this Sherston home and those nearby.

While the heroes of the day played it off as doing “what anyone would have done”, it takes a certain level of selflessness and bravery to burst into a smoking house for someone you don’t know.

Electrical fires can be dangerous and if Mr Pyle and Mr Andrews hadn’t intervened the damage would have been much worse.

In related fire service news the Standard also reported this week that the Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service has backed plans to do away with full time staff in Cirencester. Let’s hope the move doesn’t mean more residents are relied on to put their lives at risk and hold back fires.