A TEENAGER carried his disabled mum from their burning home after a fire broke out in the conservatory.

The quick-thinking actions of Alex Jenkinson, 14, stopped the blaze turning into a tragedy because mum Janice, who has to use a wheelchair, was upstairs.

The fire started at the rear of the property on Witham Court, Higham at 12.45pm on Saturday, while Janice was in the bathroom and dad Gary was out.

Alex, who goes to Darton High, told the Chronicle he heard a loud bang at the back of the house and found the conservatory area on fire where the family stored barbecue equipment, including a propane gas cylinder.

The brave youngster tried to tackle the flames with a hose pipe but it was already out of control.

Strong gusts of wind had whipped the blaze into an inferno, causing the conservatory window to break and fire to spread rapidly through the house.

Alex ran upstairs to tell his mum what was happening before getting help from neighbours to carry her safely out of the house in her wheelchair.

Dad, Gary, said: "If he hadn't acted so quickly, and got help, it would have turned into a tragedy.

"It doesn't bear thinking about that my wife could have been trapped in there.

"I'm just grateful to Alex and my neighbours for what they did."