IRON MAN

Quick-thinking golfer John saves two children trapped in burning Land Rover by smashing window | Frantic mum's rescue bid fails after car deadlocks snap on just minutes before motor turns into fireball

- MARK MCGIVERN

GOLFER John Mackie was hailed a hero after he used a six iron to save the lives of two kids trapped in a burning car.

The quick-thinking butcher used the club to smash the windows of the car - which had terrified four-year-old Kodi Ferrie and her 11-month-old brother Brian trapped inside.

John, 58, managed to free the children with just a minute to spare before the red Land Rover Discovery turned into a fireball.

Their mother Alix, 34, had got out of the vehicle when warning signs appeared on her dashboard and the bonnet started smoking.

But as she tried to reach the kids, the vehicle's deadlocks snapped on, due to an electrical fault, leaving her outside and her children locked inside.

She couldn't smash the windows on her own - and could see the fire under the bonnet of the car taking hold fast.

But the arrival of John on the scene meant the children were saved in the nick of time.

Alix said: "If it wasn't for John's cool head and quick actions, the kids would have had no chance of surviving the fire. He's a hero.

"I had tried to break the windows with my keys but it didn't work and I was panicking so much, I really needed some help.