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Modest firefighter Mark Turley does not think he did anything exceptional by pulling a mother and her three young children from their burning house.

But his bosses disagree and Mark from Haverhill, could be on his way to 10 Downing Street to be congratulated by the Prime Minister after being short-listed in the annual Vodafone Life Savers Awards.

Mark, 39, has been a retained firefighter for almost five years, but the drama which earned his nomination happened right on his own doorstep.

He was at his home in Parkside, Haverhill, two months ago, changing a nappy for his two-year-old son Matthew, when he heard a smoke detector going off next door. His actions saved the lives of the mother and her children aged six, three and two.

"After about 30 seconds when the alarm did not stop I asked my girlfriend Nicola to take over with matthew and I went outside. I could not see anything from the outside, but I lifted the letterbox and I could see about two feet of smoke through the downstairs of the house.

"All you could hear were three kids screaming and trying to wake their mother up. I managed to talk to them through the letterbox and get them to let me in, then got the three of them out.

"I had to tell them not to follow me, then went back in for their mother. I could not wake her, but as I started to lift her she woke up and walked out. My girlfriend took them all into our house and I went back to ventilate the house."

Mark played down the bravery of his actions. "I did not even think about the danger," he said, "It was just instinctive to go in there. I am chuffed to bits to be nominated, but I really dont think I did anything different to what anyone else would have done.

"I dont really expect to win as there are alot of people who have done far more and really put their lives on the line."

The awards were launched in April to honour unsung heroes behind Britain's most remarkable lifesaving rescues - from the emergency services through to the ordinary members of the public.

Mark has been short-listed in the East heat to choose two regional finalists to be announced later this summer.

Vodafone UK's julien Cozens said: "All too often people who have acted heroically tend to avoid the limelight.

"We want to make sure that acts of exceptional bravery and courage such as Mark Turley's receive the recognition they truly deserve."