“I just wanted to help and make sure he was okay” - the words of brave Seaham teenager Alex Nicholson after putting his own safety to one side to leap to the aid of a man whose garage became engulfed in flames, causing his jumper and trousers to catch fire.

Alex, who works at LGM Tyres in Seaham Grange Industrial Estate, was busy fitting new tyres to a customer’s car when he noticed flames coming from the motorbike garage across the road.

Alex, 18, said: “I saw flames coming from the motorbike garage and so I ran across. The owner was desperately trying to get the bikes out of the garage and he shouted for me to get a fire extinguisher.

“I ran back to out garage, jumped across some tyres and grabbed the fire extinguisher.”

By the time Alex got back to the motorbike garage, things had taken a turn for the worse.

He said: “When I got to the garage the owner’s back was covered in flames. I used the fire extinguisher at first but it didn’t put out the flames and so I started using my hands to pat down the flames and put the fire out.

“The fire had burnt a hole in his jumper and he wanted to go back in to save the bikes, but I told him he needed to leave it as they are all things which can be replaced.”

With the Fire Service on the way, Alex then turned his attention to preventing anyone else from getting hurt.

He said: “There’s obviously petrol canisters in the garage and you could hear banging and spitting noises - it sounded like there was going to be a big explosion.

“A number of people were walking towards it and I just started screaming for them to get back.”

Eventually the Fire Service arrived and were able to extinguish the blaze and the owner was taken by ambulance to hospital.

A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called at 1.46pm yesterday (December 3) to a fire at a motorbike shop on Seaham Grange Industrial Estate, Seaham.

“Six fire engines attended the incident from Seaham, Darlington, Peterlee, Spennymoor and Durham Fire Stations.

“Crews left the scene at 7.58pm.”

Alex added: “I just wanted to make sure he was okay.”

After hearing of Alex’s selfless act, his mother, Julie Nicholson, said she had “never been so proud in her life”.