A HAVE-A-GO hero who heard cries of help tried to force his way into a burning house to rescue a woman inside.

Krzysztof Mazurek, 29, was walking to work at about 4.45am on Monday morning when he heard a scream coming from a burning house in Main Road, Dovercourt.

Lorry driver Mr Mazurek said: “It was walking down the street to work and I heard a scream of ‘Help’ coming from a house.

“I did not know what was going on at first but saw a fire was starting in the upstairs of a house behind a window and I ran to the front door and tried to kick it open.

“I tried to kick the door down and then a lady who lived in the house next door came outside and told me to try to break down the back door while she called the fire brigade but it wouldn’t open.

“I found a ladder in the back garden and tried to smash one of the windows so I could get into the house, but the homeowner’s dog was guarding the window and I didn’t want to hurt it.”

Mr Mazurek said the homeowner - a woman in her forties - managed to get downstairs and get out of the house to escape the flames with her dog.

He said: “Another man was in the front garden and gave her a jumper to keep warm as we waited for the firemen.

“This all happened in the space of ten minutes and when we looked up at the house there was a full fire breaking through the upstairs bedroom of the house and couldn’t believe it.”

Krzysztof then knocked on some of the neighbours’ doors to wake them up and get them out of their homes in case the fire spread. He left the homeowner in the care of the ambulance and fire service who put out the fire by 6.10am and went to work.

He said: “I still can’t believe what had happened and my reaction was to run over straight away to help and I knew I had to do whatever it took.

“The lady doesn’t actually know I tried to help as I think she was still in shock and was suffering with smoke inhalation but the next door neighbour said thank you.

“I’m just glad I could help someone in a terrible situation for the first time in my life and I hope the woman recovers OK.”

The woman suffered with smoke inhalation and was treated at Colchester General Hospital.

An Essex Fire and Rescue spokesman has confirmed the cause of the fire was an electrical fault.