TWO policemen who heroically rescued a Christchurch family of four from their burning home have said they were just doing their job.

PCs Tim Brehmer and Rhys Griffiths, both traffic officers based at Ferndown, saved lives by breaking down the front door to wake the family up in the early hours of Thursday.

As reported in yesterday’s Echo, the PCs had been driving past as part of their rounds when they spotted smoke coming from a utility room at the rear of Russell and Sara Diffey’s three-bedroom house in Mill Road.

PC Brehmer said: “We are very glad that we could be of help but we were just doing our job.”

The Diffeys have hailed the policemen as heroes. Sara told the Echo: “The policemen were tremendous. They deserve a medal. They put their lives at risk to get us out.”

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service say the incident would have been fatal without them, because the Diffey’s smoke alarms were not working.

PC Brehmer, who entered the smoke filled house, even made sure the family’s three cats got to safety.