A PENSIONER has told how he has his dog to thank for saving him from a blaze.

Roy Hancock, 71, was fast asleep when the fire started in the loft of his bungalow home in Tadley.

He described how he woke to the sound of one of his two pet collie dogs, Ben.

"I could hear scratching at the door. It was Ben trying to warn me," said the retired builder.

"Both dogs must have been in the lounge. When I got up, there were flames shooting from the chair, but I don't know where they came from."

Mr Hancock described how he managed to flee the bungalow and alert a neighbour. However, he told The Gazette that he was devastated at losing his home and the second collie, Max, in the blaze.

The fire ripped through his semi-detached home on Skates Lane at around 2am on Saturday morning.

His neighbour, John Monday, rang the fire brigade before trying to help salvage some of his possessions, but was defeated by a thick wall of smoke.

While Mr Hancock was treated for smoke inhalation at Basingstoke hospital, five fire appliances from Tadley, Basingstoke and Kingsclere, tackled the fire.

Mr Hancock was staying at his daughter Caroline's home in Baughurst after being released from hospital.

His other daughter, Sue, was due to move in with him in the near future.

He told The Gazette: "Ben probably saved my life. He is very sad at the moment because he knows that the other one couldn't get out."

A close friend of his, Albert Hiscock, was round at Mr Hancock's house just hours before the fire started, enjoying their regular weekly chat.

"I had just left and Roy must have gone to bed when the fire started," he said.

"He is very upset, as he has lived in that house for around 14 years. He has lived alone with his two dogs ever since his wife Jo died about twelve years ago."

Fire officers believe the fire could have stemmed from an electrical fault in the roof. There was no smoke alarm fitted in the bungalow.