Builder Ian Dunkerton grabbed a garden hose and climbed on to a rooftop after spotting a blaze in an attic room.

Mr Dunkerton, 42, was working at a property in High Street, Rottingdean, near Brighton, when he noticed a room in the house next door was on fire.

With the help of his workmates, Mr Dunkerton, of Sutton Avenue, Peacehaven, used the hose to try to bring the flames under control.

He said: "I was doing some maintenance work with my colleague David Burns and went to the back of the house to help the gardener with something.

"We saw the smoke and thought there was too much of it to be a barbecue. So I got the ladder and the hose while the others sorted out the water.

"I'm quite agile so I wasn't too worried about it being dangerous.

"There was a split second when I wondered whether it would be worth it, because the fire station is just round the corner but I decided there was nothing to lose."

Gardener Judith Galloway, 35, who also spotted the fire, said it could have been much worse if he had not acted.

She said: "It was a dangerous thing to do but we know the children in the house and that spurred him on.

"It's such a beautiful property and I could see the fire spreading and destroying it. The fireman said the whole roof would have gone if Ian hadn't got there as soon as he did."

Mr Dunkerton's actions have won the praise of homeowners Robert and Tara Feld.

Mrs Feld, 48, was in the house when the fire started but left when a neighbour phoned to warn her of the danger.

Their two children were playing elsewhere.

Mr Feld, 50, said: "It was a very brave thing to do. It was definitely thanks to him the fire wasn't a lot worse."

Firefighters said the blaze started about 30 minutes before it was spotted because the batteries in a smoke detector had worn out.

Leading Firefighter Gary Smith, based at Roedean, Brighton, said the flames were almost out when crews arrived but said amateur firefighting could be dangerous.

He said: "They did quite a good job in putting the fire out but we would encourage people not to fight the fire themselves and leave it to us."

High Street was closed to traffic for about an hour on Saturday afternoon after firefighters arrived to make the house safe.