A canal boat hero saved his friend from his blazing narrowboat after it went up in flames in Bradford on Avon in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Retired book dealer David Walker, 58, dragged his friend Phil Young, 62, out of his boat Water Reed, which was completely destroyed.

Mr Walker said: “I woke up at 4am and looked out of the porthole and saw orange flames. I was worried about his two gas bottles exploding in the heat.

“His boat was well alight and I managed to pull him out of the front of the boat, which went up like a tinderbox.

“His head was smoking, his hair was singed and his arms were burned. He had inhaled some of the smoke.

“He was traumatised so I sat him down on the canal towpath and he just said ‘That’s my home. I’ve lost everything’.

Mr Walker, who hails from Glastonbury, received burns on his own hands from the dramatic rescue near Baileys Barn.

It’s believed the fire started accidentally when a candle set fire to Mr Young’s duvet, Mr Walker said.

He said Mr Young, a retired Wiltshire social worker, had been receiving weekly treatment at the Royal United Hospital in Bath for a blood condition.

“He’s a lovely chap but he discharged himself on Saturday and was a bit disorientated. We were planning to get some chips and watch the football on Sunday evening," he said.

Mr Young was given oxygen by ambulance service paramedics for the smoke inhalation and was taken to the RUH for treatment to minor burns.

Mr Young’s cat, a female tortoiseshell called Aborlene, was being cared for by Mr Walker while he was in hospital.

“She’s okay. I have been looking after her for the past month,” said Mr Walker.

He says his friend has “lost everything” he owns, except for the few clothes he was wearing when his boat went up in flames.

"I understand his boat was not insured and he has lost all of his personal possessions, clothes and shoes.

“By the time the fire crews arrived, it was too late to save the boat. There is nothing left inside. It is uninhabitable.

“But Phil is my friend and I will look after him. I have a spare double bed he can use when he comes out of hospital.”

The local canal boat community and Bradford on Avon residents have already rallied round with offers to help Mr Young.

Fire crews from Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge and Warminster were called out just after 7.30am when the boat was already well alight.

They used four breathing apparatus and hose reels to bring the blaze under control and prevent the 60-foot narrowboat from sinking.

The canal towpath near Baileys Barn was cordoned off until 10.45am while the crews attacked the fire from both ends of the boat with extended hoses.

Fire crew manager Iolo Lavender said: “We were very careful to keep the boat afloat to minimise the environmental impact and to maintain a working canal.”

A DWFRS spokesperson said: “We were called just after 7.30am today with reports of a boat fire on the canal near Baileys Barn, Bradford on Avon.

“Crews from Trowbridge, Bradford on Avon and Warminster were mobilised and on arrival found one canal boat alight. 

“Four breathing apparatus wearers used hose reel jets to extinguish the fire and one casualty who had suffered smoke inhalation and burns was given first aid until the ambulance was in attendance.  

“The boat has been completely destroyed by the fire which is believed to have started accidentally. The cause has not yet been confirmed.”