'Stray cat saved my life' (From Barry And District News)

'Stray cat saved my life'

A BARRY woman has been saved from a chip pan fire - by a stray moggy who just strolled in from the street.

39-year-old Alison Millward is convinced she owes her life to the feline stranger who woke her up before she was engulfed in flames.

Late one night the Holton Road resident made a toasted sandwich. Alison, who had been suffering from insomnia for over a week, then sat down and promptly fell alseep.

But the animal lover, who has owned a cat called Topsey for four years, had accidentally turned on the chip pan whilst cooking.

Within minutes her house was filled with thick black smoke.

Alison told the News: "After not sleeping for so long, I had gone off really heavily in the chair. The next thing I remember is the cat springing onto my chest, knocking my face with his head and clawing at my neck to wake me."

By this time, the fire had spread throughout the kitchen, and smoke was coming under the doors.

She said: "I called the fire brigade, shoved both the cats out of the house and tried to fight the blaze."

Almost immediately the emergency services arrived, and got the fire under control. But Alison knows how close she came to dying. She said: "A fireman told me they'd had an incident like this last week, and a man died.

But because the stray cat, who I have now named Joe woke me, I managed to raise the alarm in time.

It is believed that Joe got into Alison's house after befriending Topsy - a twist of fate that she believes saved her life.

Alsion said: "It's only thanks to my stray cat I'm still alive. The kitchen is gutted, I was ill for nearly a week with the soot in my lungs and none of this would have happened if I'd had a smoke alarm.

"I've never before realised how important they are. As soon as I can, I'm having them fitted throughout the house."