A TORTOISE called Hermann survived unscathed when his pen caught fire and he was rescued by firefighters.

His owners have told how they were round at a friend’s barbecue when the blaze started in the pen, which they keep in the lounge of their Tadcaster home.

Alistair and Angela Mackay said the whole house could have been destroyed, had their son not decided to pop back home to get a game and heard the smoke alarm going off.

The couple of Station Road, said Hermann was a Mediterranean tortoise and, apart from during warm summer weather, he lived in a wooden pen in the lounge, heated by a bulb.

Angela said she put in a new bulb on Saturday, and for some reason it caught fire while they were round at a friend’s house for a barbecue on Easter Sunday evening.

She said their 15-year-old son Cameron decided to go back home to get a Catchphrase game to play at the barbecue, heard the smoke alarm going off, found the pen alight and dialled 999. Tadcaster firefighters arrived within minutes, put out the fire and rescued Hermann.

“He seems to be ok and doesn’t seem to be suffering from smoke inhalation,”said Alistair.

The couple’s daughter Cara, who got Hermann almost three years ago, said she had feared the worst at first .”I thought he was going to die,” she said. “I was very relieved.”

Alistair said the incident illustrated the importance of having a smoke alarm and also the possible risks of such pen heaters.

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service confirmed a faulty heat lamp caused the blaze, which was tackled by two crews and caused fire, heat and smoke damage to the pen and carpet, and also smoke logging to first and second floors.