A brave grandfather is to receive a £500 reward after he helped two teenagers escape from a blazing car seconds before it was engulfed in flames.

Glen Brabiner, 45, rushed from his home in his underwear when a speeding Honda Civic went out of control and smashed into a lamppost on Bell Dean Road, Allerton, last November.

Mr Brabiner was able to free Darren Spink, 18, and 16-year-old Robert Moore from the stolen vehicle, but prosecutor Heather Weir told Bradford Crown Court yesterday that the intense heat meant nobody could save the life of 21-year-old driver Martin Price.

Judge Robert Bartfield said he wanted to record the court's appreciation and admiration for Mr Brabiner's actions that night and the reward was intended to be "modest recognition" of what he had done.

The court heard that Mr Price and his friend Spink had earlier "hot-wired" the Honda Civic after a night out drinking.

Mr Price, who had never passed a driving test and was banned at the time for a drink-driving offence, drove the Honda around the area in the early hours before picking up Mr Moore who got in the rear.

Both surviving passengers described Martin Price as driving "very fast" before losing control of the Honda.

Spink, now 19 of Whimbral Close, Lower Grange, Bradford, was yesterday sent to a young offenders institution for eight months and banned from driving for a year after he admitted a charge of aggravated vehicle taking.

The court heard he had previous convictions for taking vehicles without consent and aggravated vehicle taking.

"He acknowledges that he owes his life to a very brave member of the public who selflessly set about extricating this defendant from the flames of this car which was about to explode," said Spink's barrister Stephen Wood.

Mr Wood said his client had been frank about what had happened that night when the was questioned by police a week after the incident.

"He is very sorry for what happened that night," added Mr Wood. He readily accepts his culpability and he wishes he could turn the clock back.

"I ask your Honour to accept that for the rest of this young man's days he will carry with him the punishment of what happened that night."

Judge Bartfield said Spink and his friend had taken the Honda to go joy-riding and that included driving it at speed.

"Even at 18 you were old enough to know that when the two of you took a car, whoever was driving, danger to the public or somebody was likely to result," he told Spink.

"You picked up another young man and then the car set off a speed and no doubt until what happened you were all enjoying yourselves."

Following the fatal crash, Mr Brabiner described how he had been making coffee in his kitchen when he heard a huge bang.

He said he pulled one youth out of what appeared to be the boot and then had to force open a jammed door to release the front seat passenger.

"He was screaming that his mate was still inside. I tried to go back. All I could see was a shape surrounded by flames. I couldn't get to him.

"The heat was too much. I had to give up," he said.