A Worthing man is to receive an award after he saved a girl of three from her blazing home by fighting the flames with a garden hose.

Jeff Marriott, of Chiltern Crescent, Durrington, battled through thick smoke to save the three-year-old from the flames after her frantic mother and two sisters raised the alarm.

He ran into the blazing building and began to douse the fire using his hose.

As the thick smoke began to clear, he spotted the little girl standing rooted to the spot the lounge.

Holding his breath, he crawled towards her and carried her to safety outside.

Mr Marriott returned to the house and held the flames at bay until fire crews arrived.

Little Stephanie spent several weeks in hospital being treated for serious burns to her face, chest, back, legs and arms.

She is now out of hospital and making good progress, although she still faces another operation on one of her fingers.

Mr Marriott, a carpenter, will receive an award in a ceremony at Worthing fire station on Friday.

Nathan Peters, of Kithurst Close, Worthing, will also be presented with a certificate of commendation by Chief Fire Officer Martin Burrell.

On May 25, 2000, Mr Peters saw a mother and child trapped in a burning first-floor flat in Tarring Road, Worthing.

He scaled the front of the building and stayed with the terrified pair in their smoke-filled front room until the fire brigade arrived.

Mr Burrell said: "Both recipients deserve all possible praise, for without them doing the right thing at the right time and above all risking their own safety to help others at a time of extreme emergency, the outcome of these two fires could have ended in tragedy."