The Mayor of Dudley has met with a Dudley bin man, who bravely went into a burning Halesowen home to switch off electrics and rescue three dogs.

Tom Alexander, who has worked at Dudley Council’s waste management team for six years, was at his home on Margaret Avenue in August last year when a fire broke out in a neighbour’s home.

The selfless father of four, aged 35, acted quickly and rescued his neighbour’s dogs from the building.

After hearing his story and hearing that he has received an award from West Midlands Fire Service, The Mayor of Dudley invited Mr Alexander into her office to meet her last week.

Tom was joined by his wife and four children on his visit. The family still live on the street and have remained in contact with their neighbour.

Councillor Hilary Bills, The Mayor of Dudley, said: “It was such an honour to meet Tom and his lovely family and to hear all about his brave and selfless act from last summer.

“His family and friends are of course very proud of him, and as a council we also feel very lucky to have someone so calm and collected working in our refuse team.”

Tom added: “We really enjoyed meeting the mayor last week, it still feels unreal to share the story of what happened that day.

“The fire has had a huge impact on everyone in the street, but I don’t feel like a hero, and I just wanted to help which is what anyone would want do in that situation.”