SWINDON postman Simon Goodall has been named as the top postie in the south west after saving the life of a pensioner whose house was on fire.

Simon, who works at Royal Mail’s Hawksworth Delivery Office, scooped the prestigious award during a contest to find the nation’s Postie of the Year after his quick-thinking actions saved the life a pensioner.

The drama unfolded earlier this year as Simon was on his round when he noticed smoke coming from the kitchen of a house in Rodbourne Cheney.

He spotted the elderly resident asleep in an armchair so quickly managed to wake her and alert the fire service.

They dealt with the fire and were in time to avert what could have been a much more serious incident.

Following the incident firefighters praised Simon, saying his swift actions had undoubtedly saved a life.

Mike Dalton of Royal Mail said: “Because our people make daily deliveries to all 28 million addresses in the UK, they are more visible on the streets than policemen, and are often first at the scene and instinctively get involved.

“Fortunately Simon was on hand to help and averted what could easily have been a tragedy.

“He is an excellent example of how postmen and women are part of their local community.”

Simon, from Faringdon, will now take delivery of £500 after winning the regional round of the Royal Mail contest but narrowly missed out on the national award last week.

Postmen and women from nine regions across the UK were nominated by customers or colleagues for fundraising, for their contribution to the community or for a public-spirited act of bravery or lifesaving.

At the event in London, three national winners were named and each received £1,000 along with the overall Postman of the Year who won a £3,000 holiday.