The people who saved a family from the Leeds fire have been called ‘heroes’

An elderly couple and their granddaughter have been hailed as heroes after a fire broke out outside their home, saying it was “very strange”.

Mohsin Qayyum, 22, and Mohammad Yusuf Iqbal, 20, were driving past a house in Kirkstall, Leeds, when they saw the fire and a man trying to put it out with a hose.

When family member Kayla Robinson thanked her grandparents and brother on social media for helping them, commenters praised their actions.

Iqbal, from Bradford, said: “It was a bit strange at first because we didn’t think it would get this much attention and we didn’t really focus on it – we just thought people needed our help.”

Kayoom added: “It’s been an amazing feeling, especially with how quickly it’s spread and where it’s spread. I’ve had family and friends from all over the UK texting me saying they’ve just seen it. And I’m thinking there, this is mental.

“I’m really in the news and it’s for good. It’s weird that people recognize me because of it.”

Iqbal said his main worry after the incident – in which he jumped over a fence to help his family – was the damage it caused to their garden.

“I took responsibility for damaging some of their fences because I was trying to open them. “No, don’t worry about it, we’ll fix it,” he said.

“They were very grateful and then we went on our way and that was it.”

Two crews from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the blaze on Lea Farm Road on June 19, which spread from the fence to the garage because “combustible material” was too close to an out-of-control fire.