A Surrey ex-firefighter has been recognised for teaching children about the dangers of fire.

Taff Jones, 57, of Addlestone, a community safety education Officer with the Surrey fire service, has spent the past 12 years visiting schools teaching children about the dangers of flames and what to do in an emergency.

Armed with what he has told them, some children have gone on to save lives.

One example involved Josephine Boosey, who was a seven-year-old pupil when Mr Jones visited Kingfield School, Woking, in 1994.

"Ten days later her father was lighting a bonfire and he set fire to himself.

"Everybody was panicking, and there was this little girl, calm as you like, shouting at him to 'stop, drop and roll'.

"She got a certificate from the fire brigade saying how brave she was."

The success of Mr Jones' work was recognised by government ministers at the event marking the news that the number of fire deaths in England has halved since 1981.

"I explained that our education programme is superior to a lot of the larger brigades, and that's why we get a lot of good results," Mr Jones said.

Mr Jones was a serving firefighter for 29 years, spending the last 10 as a schools liaison officer.

After retiring for six months, Mr Jones returned to Surrey Fire and Rescue Service as a full-time education officer in 1994.

"I think I've achieved more in the past 12 years than I did in the previous 20," he said.

"The children are becoming responsible people at the early age of nine or 10 and they go home and teach their mums and dads."