Two Biddulph men have been thanked after their quick thinking meant an 88-year-old woman was kept safe from a raging fire.

Cousins Mickey and Matt Haslam, aged 24 and 19 from Biddulph, were cycling down the Biddulph Valley Way on Saturday afternoon when they noticed that a large metal shed near the tracks had gone up in flames.

However, 88-year-old Audrey, who was sitting in her cottage near to the fire, was oblivious to the incident, and could have been put in serious danger without the help of the two young men.

Mickey told Nub News: "We were biking down the tracks talking rubbish to each other as normal, but then we saw smoke coming from behind a row of cottages.

"We saw that a big metal shed had gone up in flames, and we didn't know whether it was a controlled fire. It looked like we were the first people to see it.

"We ran over there to see what was happening, and we noticed an old woman sat in her front room, and she was completely unaware of it."

He continued: "We were knocking on her windows to try and get her to come outside, but I think she was a bit intimidated by us.

"Luckily we knocked on the neighbour's cottage and a young family came out. They thought something might be wrong because their power had gone off.

"They rang the fire service, and we went back to the old lady's house and managed to get her to come out and took her away from the fire."

He added: "There was a big tree by the shed that had just gone up in flames by that point, but luckily the fire service arrived and brought it under control."

The pair have been praised for their actions, with a post on social media receiving hundreds of likes and comments.

Audrey's grandson Tom Petznick was among those who commented, saying: "Lads, thank you so much, this is my nan and you literally saved her life.

"The back door of her house was literally seconds away from catching fire and the house would have soon followed. Can't thank you enough."

Another resident commented: "Well done lads. Thank god you were at the right place at the right time. This lady is one very lucky lady. I hope your parents are very proud of your actions."

Matt's mum and Mickey's aunty Loretta Haslam added: "You are both stars, well done to you both. Thank you to everyone for the comments, the boys have made me so proud."

Biddulph Nub News has contacted Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service for comment.