A MUM has hailed her son a hero after he saved a block of flats from going up in flames.

Colleen Town told how her 31-year-old son Andrew injured himself while dragging a burning communal bin from underneath properties in Packhouse Court in Hatfield.

The block of flats had to be evacuated after smoke filled the building through the ventilation system on February 27 at 7.30pm.

Ms Town of Golden Dell, WGC, said: “Andrew was passing when he saw the smoke coming from the bin cupboard.

“It was overpowering and bellowing out.

“He got the bin out that was on fire. If it had gone on any longer without being detected maybe the flats would have caught fire.”

The 61-year-old added: “He hurt his neck and shoulders badly as the bin was so big.

“Somebody could have been injured or even killed if the flats had caught fire. He could have been killed himself.

“It was an act of heroism and I am very proud of him.”

Andrew, 31, who lives in the block of flats, was on his way out when he noticed the smoke coming from the bin cupboard.

He said: “The flames were about 3ft high.

“I strained all the muscles in my neck from pulling out the bin which was really heavy but thankfully my neck’s better now.”

The owner of TJ Town Window Cleaning added: “My next-door neighbour has a two-year-old daughter and they live directly above where the fire was so I obviously had to do something.

“After getting the bin out I ran into the restaurant [the Turan] and got buckets of cold water to throw over the flames. Thankfully no one else was injured.”

Firefighters attended the scene.

The cause of the blaze is thought to be arson.