A GWENT man saved the lives of two people sleeping in the cab of a lorry when its cargo of hay caught fire.

Darren Pritchard woke driver Andy Clifton, who was asleep with girlfriend Helen Lindop.

The couple had stopped in the bus depot in Abergavenny for the night on Saturday. The fire broke out shortly after 2am yesterday, completely destroying the truck and the trailer containing 20 tonnes of rolled hay.

Flames were reported to have been 40ft high and the intensity of the blaze destroyed a nearby lamp-post.

Mr Pritchard, 24, of Derwen Way, Abergavenny, said: "I was walking back to my house after a night out and I saw the trailer was well on fire. I suspected there was somebody inside the cab so I was banging like hell to wake the driver up.

"It was really hot around the truck and there was smoke everywhere but I didn't really hesitate because they could have died otherwise."

Mr Clifton, from Bracknell, had stopped in Abergavenny on the way to Lampeter from Reading to deliver the hay.

He said: "After being woken up we tried to get the cab unhooked from the trailer but there was burning hay flying everywhere so we just had to retreat to a safe distance. The fire brigade told us if we hadn't been woken by Darren then we would have been overcome by fumes.

"I promised my girlfriend an exciting weekend in Wales but this wasn't quite what I imagined."

Abergavenny police are now trying to track down three youths seen running from the scene. It is believed they may have started a bin fire near the trailer, which spread to the hay.

The driver of an articulated lorry parked alongside Mr Clifton's truck also had to be woken and his vehicle was saved.

A spokesman for South Wales Fire Service said: "We remained at the scene until noon damping down the hay."

Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Jonathan Ellis at Abergavenny police station on 01873 852273.

* in the picture: A firefighter damps down smouldering hay after the blaze.