A QUICK-THINKING schoolboy who helped prevent a blaze spreading to a fuel tank after a motorhome turned into an inferno has been hailed a hero by firefighters.

Eleven-year-old Cameron Clouting was putting out the rubbish at around 5pm on January 6 when he heard his neighbours’s smoke alarm going off in Abels Road, Halstead.

The Ramsey Academy schoolboy noticed smoke coming from a motorhome parked on their driveway and immediately raised the alarm.

He called the fire brigade on 999, giving his address and vital information about was happening next door.

Firefighters got to the scene within minutes and managed to get the blaze under control.

Halstead fire station watch manager Steve Byrne said: “The motorhome was parked just one metre away from a house and flames were coming out of the windows and the top of the vehicle.

“Cameron’s quick thinking and actions meant that we were alerted without delay.

“From the time Cameron called 999 to us arriving was nine minutes.

“When we arrived, the rear cab area of the motorhome was 100 per cent alight, but luckily the fire had not yet spread to the fuel tank, which was full, or to the house.

“There were also gas cylinders in the motorhome that we were able to remove before the fire and heat got to them.

Mr Byre presented Cameron with a special certificate of recognition and a service badge for his actions.

He said: “The motorhome was used by a couple from Devon as a permanent home, they were visiting family, and there was a lot of valued items and memories within the vehicle that we saved.

“The crews managed to control the fire quickly without any damage to the house.

“Another five minutes and this would have been a different story to tell.”

Luckily brigade education officer Andrea Adams had already given a fire safety talk at Ramsey Academy before the incident, covering how when to call 999 and what to say to the control operator.

Mr Byrne said: “What Cameron had learnt and remembered from Andrea’s visit, as well as his quick thinking and actions, saved his neighbour’s house and probably his own home, and prevented possible serious injury to the occupants.”

He added: “Cameron also gets lots of thanks from his very grateful neighbours.

“His parents and school are extremely proud of him, as he should be of himself.

“Cameron and his parents have also accepted my invitation to visit the fire station on a training night to meet the crew and have a tour, as a special thank you.”