Meet the heroic Leeds chef who helped save disabled man moments before car exploded

Michael Gardiner, 37, head chef at New Farnley Cricket Club, was driving along Farnley Ring Road at 5.45pm on Tuesday evening, (April 22), when he saw a car stopped with smoke coming out at the side of the road.

Stopping to ask the driver if she needed any help, he discovered that her passenger was a disabled man, and with the help of another heroic man on the scene dragged him to safety moments before the car exploded.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Michael said: “There was a bit of smoke so I stopped to make sure she was ok. I noticed there was someone in the passengers seat and she said he couldn’t get out as he was disabled.

“I jumped out and with the help of another guy we pulled him away, then just as he ran to get a fire extinguisher before we knew it the car was up in flames.”

Pulling the passenger into the safety of a nearby bus layby, Michael was soon joined by a host of Good Samaritans who stopped to help.

One of those involved, a local road worker, got his hi vis out the back of his van to help shut the road off as firefighters arrived to put out the flames.

The tale was originally shared online by a colleague at New Farnley Cricket Club and Michael said he has been left “overwhelmed” by the response online.

He said: “I was dropping the kids off at school this morning and everyone was saying ‘well done’. It’s nice to be recognised but I didn’t really want all this fuss to be honest.

“I just did what anyone would have done. I was thinking about my family and I would hope that someone would stop to ask my wife if she was ok.”

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Michael stayed with the driver and passenger until the woman’s husband arrived to help.

The disabled woman was understandably left shaken by the incident but Michael said he understands that both driver and passenger are unhurt and doing well.