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A fearless feline has been hailed a hero after saving her owner from a suspected arson attack.

Pet Taffy bit Tracie Horgan-Hodgkiss to wake her when fire broke out and her bedroom began to fill with smoke.

Tracie dialled 999 and minutes later she and the two-year-old tortoiseshell were being helped down a ladder to safety by firefighters.

Tracie, 39, said: “I thought the smoke alarm was my alarm clock and ignored it. Taffy bit my hand until I woke up. I don’t think I’d be here now but for her.”

Tracie, of Bridgend, South Wales, was taken to hospital after inhaling smoke.

Firefighters said she owes her life to Taffy after the suspected arson attack.

Bridgend fire station watch manager Roger Mangan said: “They were very lucky. We got there just at the right time.”

A South Wales Police spokesman said: “A 39-year-old woman was taken to hospital suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.

"A 39-year-old man from Bridgend has been arrested on suspicion of arson and is in custody.”

Meanwhile, a chocolate labrador named Wally sniffed out a gas leak at owner Ray Rogers’ home in Derby which engineers said could have caused an explosion.

Mr Rogers, 81, said: “He got his name because he was always a bit stupid – but he wasn’t stupid with this.”