A QUICK-thinking neighbour and an off-duty firefighter today risked their own lives to save a trapped Cwmbran family from their burning home.

Dad-of-two Ashley Sulway and Mark Hopkins made the dramatic rescue at a house on Llantarnam Road early today.

In a matter of minutes, the pair pulled five trapped people to safety - owners Nick and Lynne Morgan, two of their children and a teenage friend.

Mr Sulway, 35, and his wife Julie, 33, were woken at around 3am to screams for help coming from the Morgan's house, next door.

Mrs Sulway said: "I opened the curtains to see what was happening because I thought someone was being attacked.

"Then I ran downstairs and opened the front door and the youngest girl was standing there covered in black soot.

"She had managed to get out through the front door." She called the fire brigade and Mr Sulway raced next door to help. He saw Nick, Lynne and their youngest son at the first floor window.

He said: "They were shouting for help and there was another lad and his friend in the attic bedroom."

Another boy and his friend, who had been on the ground floor, had already escaped. Mr Sulway ran to the side of the house to fetch ladders and the three on the first floor climbed down to safety.

He said: "There was black smoke billowing out from the front room. I tried to get in and shut the door to stop anymore smoke going upstairs, but it was too thick."

After the three were out of the house, Mr Sulway attempted to reach the son and his friend on the roof.

But he said: "I had to get the ladders up to the attic room but couldn't." At that moment off-duty fireman Mr Hopkins, who lives nearby, appeared and positioned the ladder properly to pull down the boys.

All eight family and friends were taken to Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.