Tesco van crew recognised for burning-car rescue

Leo Kuriakose (left) and Ben Rowe (right) were presented with awards at a ceremony on Tuesday

A pair of Tesco delivery drivers who rescued a man from a burning car have been given awards for their bravery.

Ben Rowe and Leo Kuriakose had been taking groceries to a customer in the Warndon area of Worcester on 23 September when they saw the car burst into flames.

Mr Rowe said: "It was lucky there were two of us there, because there was an older gentleman and his dog in the car and it took both of us to pull them away."

The men were among those recognised at Worcestershire County Council's Safeguarding Awards on Tuesday, and host Prof Keith Brown said their actions were "likely to have saved this gentleman's life".

Mr Kuriakose, from Bromsgrove, said he had taken a wrong turn, so he and Mr Rowe got to Cranham Drive a couple of minutes later than expected.

He said: "If that hadn't happened, we wouldn't have been there."

When they arrived they were confronted by the burning vehicle.

Mr Rowe said: "A car came rolling along the road with flames coming from the bonnet.

"We were at a customer's doorstep, so we literally dropped the trays on the floor and ran over to help."

"Once we got them out, the flames went up so fast - it was scary," said Mr Kuriakose.

"It was really lucky – we were in the right place at the right time," he added.

Mr Rowe and Mr Kuriakose dropped what they were doing to help the driver of the car

Mr Kuriakose said after pulling the man from his car and calling 999, they carried on with their delivery and finished their shift.

Mr Rowe, who lives in Droitwich, praised nurses from the nearby Warndon Clinic, who came outside to look after the driver.

Tesco colleague Matt Prior said flames from the car had been visible from the Warndon store and Mr Rowe said: "We got back ready to say 'You'll never believe the day we've had' but they already knew."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.