A LONE PCSO on a push bike may not look like they could prevent a major disaster but this woman did just that.

PCSO Faye Mills was cycling through Northfleet when a smell she thought was a barbecue turned out to be a raging house fire which had ruptured a nearby gas main.

The 27-year-old lept off her bike and ran over to the scene in Dover Road to stop traffic from driving past while radioing for further assistance before ensuring everyone had been safely evacuated.

PCSO Mills, who has been working for Kent Police for a year, said: “I was cycling past and thought I could smell a barbecue. But then I saw smoke and flames and people standing by the Leather Bottle Pub. I phoned the force control centre and stopped people from coming down the road. I didn’t want the gas main to blow.”

Two crews from Thames-side Fire Station and one from Swanscombe dealt with the blaze.

The cause of the fire, which happened at around 3pm on Saturday, is being treated as suspicious.

Full story and pictures in this week's Gravesend Messenger

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