A FATHER today praised a heroic neighbour who risked his life to save his four children as their home went up in flames.

Tom Carter gave heartfelt thanks to Malcolm Harding, who made three trips into the smoke-filled Carter household to save six-year-old twins Ashley and Chelsea, five-year-old Jordan and four-month-old Chloe, as fire riipped through upstairs rooms.

On his last trip in to rescue baby Chloe, Malcolm couldn't see or breathe.

But he managed to rescue all four youngsters as their distraught mother, Zoe Carter, looked on.

"I just had to get those children out," Malcolm said. "I had no choice. Anyone would have done the same. They would have died if I hadn't gone in."

When firefighters arrived at the Burton Stone Lane house, the children were safely out.

Father-of-three Malcolm dashed to the house when he heard mum Zoe, 25, calling for help.

He said: "I couldn't see anything. When I went in for Chloe, who was in her cot, I couldn't breathe any more. It was pitch black and when I got her outside she was black."

A fire service spokesman said the blaze broke out after Jordan set fire to his mattress while playing with an ornamental cigarette lighter.

Tom, 40, was out at work at the time of the fire on Saturday. Today, he said: "I can't find words to express Malcolm's courage to go into a burning house to get our children.

"He deserves an award for this. My children could have died."

Firefighters brought the blaze under control, but the upstairs of the house was ruined. The family and Malcolm were taken to York District Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, and were later released.

The family are not insured and have lost everything in the fire. Clothes, toys, pictures and furniture were all destroyed.

Tom said: "We are just so thankful that our children are alive."

Neighbours also won praise today after they saved a man at New Earswick. They heard the smoke alarm at his Conifer Close home and dialled 999.

The neighbours then gave fire crews a set of spare keys, which they used to enter the house before carrying the man out.

He had fallen asleep while smoking, causing the smouldering cigarette to set alight a cushion, then the carpet.

A waiting ambulance took him to hospital, where he was treated for smoke inhalation.

Station Officer Cecil Pugh said: "Good things to come out of it are the smoke alarm working and the neighbours' quick reaction. They deserve praise for calling us in quickly.

"I was also pleased with the speedy and efficient work from firefighters at the scene.

"The incident shows smoke alarms can save lives. If it had not alerted the neighbours we could quite well have been talking about a far more serious incident."

The fire broke out at about 7.40 last night.

Updated: 11:02 Monday, April 29, 2002