A DAD has praised firefighters for saving his menagerie of pets and preventing a raging fire spreading to nearby homes.

The fire service was called to Halstead Road, Kirby-le-Soken, after a garden fire got out of control.

They helped dad-of-four Daniel Addlington-Lee to usher his animals – including pygmy goats, ferrets, ducks and chickens – to safety and extinguished the blaze.

Mr Addlington-Lee said: “I got a knock on the door from my next-door neighbour to say my back garden was on fire.

“It was a bit of a shock to see 30-40ft flames out the back.

“It was spreading so quickly because everything was so dry. We’ve got quite a few animals in the area where the fire was, but we managed to usher them out into another part of the garden.”

The 35-year-old’s greenhouse was a twisted wreck after being engulfed in the flames. Tools and water butts were also destroyed in the blaze on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr Addlington-Lee, a former paramedic who was forced to quit after breaking his back, continued: “I was worried there might be gas canisters in the sheds, but the brigade was here within minutes.

“They quickly got it under control and stopped it spreading towards the houses and other gardens.

“They were brilliant and they all got about nine cups of tea afterwards. The neighbours rallied round too, and came to make sure we were all OK.

“Thank God no one got hurt and it wasn’t next week, when the kids are all off for half-term.”