Two hotel staff have been given awards for rescuing an unconscious woman in a fire.

Jamie Robb and Luke Smith carried her out of her burning room at the Folkestone Channel Tunnel Premier Inn. Sixty guests had to flee the hotel that night.

The pair received Certificates of Congratulation at the Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s annual awards on Monday.

The fire erupted at the hotel, in Cherry Garden Lane, at about 10.30pm on November 14.

Mr Robb was on duty when the fire alarm sounded in a guest room near the reception desk.

He found the bed on fire, the room full of smoke and the hotel guest unconscious.

He then alerted duty manager Mr Smith before phoning the emergency services. The pair then got the victim out of the ground floor room and helped with the evacuation of the hotel.

The woman, in her late 40s, was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and the room was severely damaged.

Two fire engines were called and crews wearing breathing apparatus stopped the fire spreading beyond the bedroom.

An evacuation took place, with 60 guests getting out. A spokesman for the Premier Inn chain said at the time that the hotel comprised two buildings and only the one with the blazing bedroom had to be emptied.

The cause of the fire was a discarded cigarette.

Mr Robb, 33, a receptionist, said: “Luke and I followed the hotel’s emergency action plan. We ensured that we contacted the fire brigade who were superb and got everyone out safely.”

Restaurant manager Mr Smith, 32, said: “Instinct and good training took over and our priority was looking after the guests. It was nice to get the certificates but we did whatever anyone else would have done.”

This week’s awards ceremony was at Oakwood House in Maidstone. Mr Robb and Mr Smith received their awards from KFRS chief executive Ann Millington and Nick Chard, chairman of Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority.

KFRS group manager Bob Cherry said: “Both Jamie and Luke did an excellent job of staying calm in a difficult situation and their professionalism during this incident is to be congratulated.

“Their actions in assessing the incident and swift summoning of the emergency services prior to assisting the unconscious woman played a major part in securing the safety of all the hotel guests.

Other award winners at the ceremony included ambulance technician Frances Ward, who rescued a man trapped in a burning van on the A2070 Kingsnorth bypass last April.