Cat lover risked life to save two moggies from fire

A retired doctor risked his life to save two cats from a house fire believed to have been started by a faulty dishwasher.

Dr Cliff Calladine, of Penistone, was shopping at Meadowhall with wife Chris when he was alerted to the incident by a call to a mobile phone from the couple's security alarm.

He drove straight back to his Wordsworth Avenue home but could not see much wrong with the house when he arrived at about 11am on Tuesday.

"The first thing I noticed was the windows were cracked and I couldn't understand why I couldn't see into the kitchen," he said.

"When I opened the door I saw fumes coming out of the dishwasher. The kitchen was full of acrid, black smoke and the first thing I thought about was the cats. My wife was outside being sensible. I couldn't see anything."

Dr Calladine, 63, managed to get upstairs to his bedroom and locate one of the two cats, named Boris and Oscar, but was struggling to find the other because of the lack of visibility.

"I threw him out of the window and my wife caught him but the other one I couldn't find him," he added. "I thought we were going to find him dead."

Firefighters later arrived and helped Dr Calladine to exit the house through the front door. The other cat was found hiding under the bed in his bedroom once the smoke had cleared.

"I got a bit of a telling off from the fire brigade for putting my life at risk to save an animal," he said.

"The first thing you think about when you're faced with that situation is not your possessions but the things that mean the most to you.

"I've never liked them (dishwashers). I'm of the opinion never leave anything electric on when you leave the house."

The dishwasher has been taken away to be investigated.

Damage, including a scorched kitchen and a number of smoke-damaged rooms, will cost an estimated £100,000 to repair.