HOSEPIPE heroes were rewarded with beer and biscuits after they battled to stop a massive field fire from spreading to people's homes.

The fire at Great Witley, near Worcester, started in a mobile home before spreading to a hedgerow and racing up a field said three workmen who raised the alarm.

At one stage the inferno threatened to engulf an Esso petrol station and gas tanks in people's gardens, some fearing there could be an explosion.

The three men tackled the blaze just yards from one of those gas tanks using just a hosepipe and helped get people out of their homes.

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Anthony Southern, 35, Darryl Hickman, 26, and Glyn Anthony Butcher, 52, all from Stourport, were given a big hug by one homeowner and boxes of Budweiser, Corona Extra and some biscuits for their role in tackling the fire which began just before 2pm on Thursday.

Worcester News: SCORCHED: The workmen who raised the alarm said this was the seat of the fire - a now gutted mobile home in Great Witley SCORCHED: The workmen who raised the alarm said this was the seat of the fire - a now gutted mobile home in Great Witley

"You guys were amazing!" said one woman before the men received their reward, taking out their boxes of beer to the works van.

The blaze gutted two cars, damaged fences, trees, hedgerows and came within metres of engulfing homes and an Esso garage on the main road.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, described the three men as heroes and told them she was 'very grateful' for their efforts and quick actions.

Worcester News: THANKS!: Homeowners were very grateful not only to fire crews but also to (left to right) workmen Glyn Anthony Butcher, Darryl Hickman and Anthony Southern who did their bit to save homes from the raging inferno THANKS!: Homeowners were very grateful not only to fire crews but also to (left to right) workmen Glyn Anthony Butcher, Darryl Hickman and Anthony Southern who did their bit to save homes from the raging inferno

Mr Southern, a maintenance worker, said he had been resting in the shade in the courtyard outside a nearby home when he heard the echo of crackling and immediately went to investigate.

When he saw smoke he immediately called the fire brigade. He then got a hosepipe from a neighbouring garden and began tackling the blaze and also made sure neighbours were safe.

He described one elderly woman trying to fight the fire with a hose pipe but that she had very little water pressure. 

"I jumped over the wall to help and said 'come on - you need to get out!' I was worried she could get hurt. We were trying to put the hedge out with the hosepipe. But there was no chance. It was like a wall of heat.

"We were straight on the phone. There was a lady down the bottom who was worried sick about us."

He also pointed out a gas tank next to the burnt-out remains of the mobile home which he feared could go up.

"I kept soaking the area around that. All you can do is try your best. Fortunately, nobody lived in the mobile home - not that we knew that until after. It's your natural instinct just to help," he said.

Mr Hickman said: "It was shocking how fast it went up. The flames were two to three feet high and much higher when the flames got into the trees. The fire was just too big for us to fight it."