A mechanic defied firefighters and risked his life to rescue his pet parrot from his burning home.
Kevin Ross was warned not to go back into the blazing building – but could not bear the thought of his beloved bird being left to die.
He ran back inside, grabbed Indian ringneck Marley’s cage and fled to safety as flames engulfed the property.
And last night the 42-year-old revealed he may not have been alive to tell the tale of his daring rescue had it not been for a Good Samaritan who raised the alarm.
Mr Ross was home alone at his property in Lhanbryde’s St Andrew’s Road when he heard someone banging on his door.
He was confronted by a stranger – who told him the roof of the house was on fire.
The passerby – who was from Buckie – had spotted the flames from the A96 Inverness-Elgin road.
Mr Ross said: “When the boy was banging at the door, I thought somebody was after me.
“But I opened the door and asked him what the story was. He told me the roof was on fire.
“I ran out, had a look and got the fire extinguishers.”
It was not until Mr Ross had left the building with his spaniel Alfie at his heel that he realised Marley had been left behind in his living room cage.
He said: “I just thought I’ll have to go back and get him. The fireman said ‘you can’t go in there’, but it just had to be done.
“I took him down the back stairs, the neighbour came out and she took him into her place. He was safe enough in there.”
The cause of the blaze is believed to have been a chimney fire that began smouldering in the afternoon and caught after Mr Ross tried to light kindling later in the evening.
Mr Ross has had Marley for the past six years and said he had no doubts about going inside the burning building to get him.
But the self-employed heavy goods vehicle mechanic said the “real hero” was the Good Samaritan who alerted him.
He added: “Marley speaks away to me, shares my breakfast and my dinner, but the boy from Buckie is the real hero.
“If he comes back up, I want to thank him properly. My 14-year-old son Macaulay would have been up there asleep, but he was away at a fiddling workshop.
“Same with myself. If I had gone to my bed, I wouldn’t be here, but that man saw the flames from the bypass and he saved my life.
“And I want to thank everyone else who has stopped by, texted or offered support to me too. I’ve just been overwhelmed by how generous folk have been.”
In total, 42 firefighters from Elgin, Lossiemouth, Fochabers, Aberdeen, Inverness and Buckie battled the blaze, which broke out shortly before 10pm on Thursday.
A fire service spokesman said: “The fire was brought under control by 12.35am, and crews remained at the scene until around 4am to damp it down and make sure everything was safe.
“No one was hurt in the fire. Firefighters used three jets and wore breathing apparatus. A height vehicle was also deployed as part of the operation.”