ONE OF Southampton's leading community figures has been hailed a hero after he helped save one of his tenants from a smoke-filled flat.

Landlord Harjap Singh and a Polish labourer broke down the door of the ground floor flat in Denzil Avenue in St Mary's and dragged the badly burned man from his bedsit before emergency crews arrived following a blaze yesterday afternoon.

Fire officer in charge at the scene Station Officer Martin Nicol, praised Mr Singh and the Polish worker's bravery.

He said: "It was a brave thing to have done. When we arrived, they had got the man outside. They probably saved the man's life."

The drama began at about 4.50pm yesterday when one of the other residents of the block of flats which has been divided into bedsits by Mr Singh spotted smoke coming from under the door of the bedsit.

He raised the alarm with other residents who had also been alerted by smoke alarms before racing behind the flats to Mr Singh's office.

Resident Mohammed Iqbal, 38, said: "I was asleep on the top floor.

"I heard the fire alarm ring and we were evacuated. All the people came out from the building and the police were there. The police spoke to us and told us to keep back from the fire."

Mr Singh and a group of Polish labourers rushed to the front of the building and spotted the man through a window lying inside the living room.

Mr Singh said: "We saw smoke coming from under the door. We tried to open his door but could not. I got a couple of lads who work for me. We tried to kick the doors down but they are fire doors and it was very hard."

Mr Singh wrapped part of his turban around his face to protect himself from the choking smoke before managing to smash down the heavy door.

He and the labourer got inside the smoke filled room and dragged the man, who is thought to be in his 50s, to safety. Mr Singh added: "I grabbed him and brought him outside. I also got one of my friends to call the police."

The man was rushed to Southampton General Hospital following the blaze. It is believed he suffered a badly burned leg during the fire.

Fourteen firefighters from Hightown and St Mary's tackled the blaze which is believed to have caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage to the flat. Firefighters and police temporarily cordoned off the middle of Denzil Avenue while they investigated the cause of the fire which is thought to have been caused by a cigarette.

Nobody else was injured in the incident.