A WOMAN and her granddaughter who helped save a mother-of-three after her husband soaked her in petrol and tried to set her alight have been nominated for a bravery award.

Pat Bott heard the woman’s screams as Mark Laverick attempted to turn his wife into a human fireball outside her County Durham home.

She and 18-year-old Samantha went out and shouted at the 41-year-old as he tried to strike his lighter near his terrified wife’s fuel-sodden clothing.

Mrs Bott, 64, of Reynolds Close, Stanley, said: “They were up against the fence. I was shouting ‘get off her, leave her alone’.

“I could see the lighter in his hand. I did not know about the petrol until I got up close and could smell it. I never gave it a thought.

“I told Sam to get her in the house. When I got back in I told Sam to wash her eyes out with cold water while I phoned the police.

“She hugged me and thanked me, saying I had saved her life.”

Laverick, of Chester Road Estate, was jailed on Friday, for ten years, with an extended licence period of five years at Newcastle Crown Court.

He admitted attempted GBH with intent on June 30 this year.

The court heard he made threats towards his wife of 22 years after their marriage broke down earlier in the year and police found a two foot machete in his house as well as a petrol canister.

Mrs Bott said: “He had been threatening her and if he did not get her one way he would get her another.”

Sergeant Michael McGowan, of Stanley Police, said: “If it wasn’t for the quick thinking and courage shown by Pat and Samantha there is a very real possibility that Laverick would have succeeded in setting his victim on fire.

“The amount of fuel thrown on her meant that, if ignited the flames could potentially have engulfed them all.

“Pat and Samantha deserve the highest praise for their actions and we have nominated them both for a bravery award.”

It is not the first time family has been involved in crime-fighting.

Mrs Bott’s late husband, Malcolm, help catch Stanley rapist Martin Walsh after he attacked a woman on the Sustrans path in 2006.

Mrs Bott, who has eight grandchildren, said: “He was the kind who would help anyone. That is why we hit it off.”