THREE brave policemen who plucked a stabbed man from his burning home and rushed him to hospital were last night praised by their bosses.

But the trio of Newport officers insisted they were just doing their job.

And we can reveal that fire officers have found two seats to the blaze which tore through the house.

Bettws police officers, PC John Jeffries and PC Dave James together with PC Mark Morgan from Newport Central turned lifesavers when they were called to the fire at Glassworks Cottages, Crindau, at 2.45am yesterday.

After neighbours told them that Martin Lewis, 41, was still in his house, they forced their way through the back door.

Crawling amid the thick smoke, the heroic trio managed to locate Mr Lewis, who was lying unconscious on his kitchen floor.

They managed to pick him up and run out of the burning building. The officers were joined on the scene by a police first responder van.

Police discovered Mr Lewis, who collects glasses in The Greyhound pub in Newport town centre, had multiple stab wounds and a head injury. He was taken to the town's Royal Gwent Hospital in the back of the van. Mr Lewis' dog died in the fire.

Inspector Dave Johnson said the police officers saved the man's life.

He said: "I commend these men who acted coolly and professionally in what was an extremely dangerous situation.

"They did not think about their own safety and realised they had to act quickly.

"They crouched down through thick smoke and were able to carry the man to safety.

"I think they acted extremely bravely and have no doubt that if they had not gone on in there straight away the man would have died."

But he said the trio, who were not speaking directly to the Press last night, were playing down their hero status.

Inspector Johnson added: "They have all been incredibly modest about their actions and insist that they were part of a team effort involving many officers and were just doing their jobs."

Described by neighbours as a loner, Mr Lewis was last night in a critical but stable condition after being transferred to the University of Wales Hospital, Cardiff.

An investigation was launched into the incident which is being treated as attempted murder.

Police using tracker dogs later arrested a 25-year-old Newport man on Heidenheim Drive. He was last night being questioned about the incident.

It is understood that Mr Lewis' lifestyle will form part of the investigation, and police are trying to piece together his movements on the night of his stabbing.

He had been at pubs in the town centre and police are appealing for anyone who saw them to call Newport CID on 01633 244999.

And assistant divisional officer Mick Flanagan from South Wales Fire Service, told us: "There is more than one seat of the fire in the house, and we are carrying out a full investigation."

Police also carried out a search of a nearby field and recovered some items from the house, but they could not confirm last night whether any of them was a weapon.