A former Saints and England footballer helped rescue an elderly couple from a camper van which caught fire.

Graeme Le Saux and his wife Mariana, came across the camper van. She said it took just 25 minutes for the vehicle to be reduced 'to ashes'.

The incident happened near Cranleigh, Surrey, at lunchtime on Sunday, not far from the former England star's home.

Mariana Le Saux said: "We assumed they had broken down. There was an older couple and the wife seemed agitated.

“My husband said he would go and see if they were alright, as we could see smoke coming from the side door.

“He said that the wife was concerned and told her husband to come away.

“At this point Graeme asked if there was any gas on board, and the husband said yes, as well as petrol. He then said that they had to move straight away, in case the gas exploded.

“They had already called the police and fire, but we phoned them again and made them aware that the smoke was not stopping."

Daily Echo: Le Saux celebrates scoring for Saints against Bristol City in 2003

She told getsurrey.co.uk: “My husband and son were stopping traffic as the fire crews had not yet arrived.

“It went from a motorhome to ashes in around 25 minutes.

“We heard mini explosions, which I guess could have been the windows exploding."

A modest Le Saux later tweeted: "It was more a case of getting to the other side of blaze and turning cars back than full on super heroes! Poor couple."

A 72-year-old man was taken to the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford suffering from smoke inhalation following the incident, but his condition was not serious.

Le Saux joined Saints in 2003 from Chelsea, and remained at St Mary's for two years, scoring twice.