A Hereford father risked his own life to rescue his children who were trapped upstairs by a bedroom blaze.

The fire broke out on the first floor of the end-terrace house at Kingsway, on the College Estate, just before 6.30pm last Friday.

"When we received the 999 call the three children were still trapped upstairs but had been carried outside by their father by the time we arrived," said Bryan Morgan, station officer at Hereford Fire and Rescue Service.

"They were very lucky. This was a severe fire in a first-floor bedroom but the time of day meant that, fortunately, everyone was awake.

"If this had happened in the middle of the night it could have been a lot, lot worse."

The incident saw four children and an adult taken to Hereford County Hospital for treatment following smoke inhalation.

Station officer Morgan, who attended the scene, said that there was another reason for the family to be thankful.

"The smoke alarm went off, alerting them to the danger and possibly saving their lives," he said.

The Herefordshire Housing home was damaged by smoke throughout. The unnamed family of eight, who weren't all home at the time, have now been rehoused.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is under way but it is not thought to have been suspicious.