Two neighbourhood wardens have been praised for rescuing an elderly woman who collapsed after suffering a stroke.

Paul Thayre, 59, and Damian Hurley, 29, were on patrol in Ashington when one of the pensioner's neighbours raised the alarm saying she had not been seen all day.

Shining their torches into her house, the pair saw the 87-year-old collapsed on the floor.

Mr Thayre, a former Army warrant officer, from Lancing, said: "We called an ambulance and then smashed the kitchen window to get in.

"The lady was still conscious but as she had had a stroke, she couldn't speak. We reckon she must have been lying there for about 12 hours."

The woman, whose name has not been released, was taken to Worthing Hospital where she is recovering from her ordeal.

Mr Thayre praised the neighbours who raised the alarm and helped in the rescue.

He said: "They boarded up her kitchen window within minutes of us having to break in and one of them, who was a nurse, helped see to the woman before the ambulance arrived."

Chairman of Ashington Parish Council John Berry said: "There is little doubt that without the old lady's neighbour noticing that the house was in darkness and phoning the Neighbourhood Wardens and the wardens responding so promptly, this incident could have been far worse.

"This incident is a good example of the wardens helping in the community and, as well as their impact on crime and disorder, demonstrates another reason why we believe that wardens are so useful in Ashington."

Ashington was one of the first rural communities in the UK to receive Government cash for the Neighbourhood Warden scheme and funding will continue until April 2004.

The scheme is jointly financed by the Home Office, Horsham District Council, West Sussex County Council and Ashington Parish Council.

Since it started last June, the number of crimes reported in the village has fallen by 18 per cent and criminal damage is down by 33 per cent.