Paddy Nolan was driving to his home in The Downs, Mullingar at around 2am yesterday when he came upon a car that had overturned and rolled into a ditch close to The Downs GAA ground. He went to investigate and the car burst into flames while three men were trapped inside.

Nolan managed to rescue a 19year-old local man from the back seat but the flames were too strong for him to save the two front-seat passengers. Vivian Nolan (32) and Simon Henry (19) died at the scene.

Paddy Nolan was a first cousin of Vivian.

Gardai have appealed for witnesses to the accident which occurred on a very narrow road next to a high embankment. It is not thought that any other vehicle was involved.

The two dead men were good friends who lived only 20 yards from each other. The man who was rescued from the vehicle was last night in a stable condition in hospital. Twelve people have now died in that area in the space of a year. And The Downs community is devastated over this latest tragic accident.

One local man said: "Paddy Nolan is a hero in anyone's language. He risked his life to get into a burning car and we would be dealing with three dead men today were it not for his brave actions. He is a modest man who doesn't like any fuss. He only lived down the road from Vivian and Simon and the fact that he was a cousin of one of the men just adds to the heartbreak."

Local parish priest Fr Michael Kilmartin said: "Our hearts go out to the families and to all who are just now hearing this terrible news. The families are well-known and respected in The Downs, which is a particularly close knit community in Mullingar. Over the past year, 12 people died in road traffic accidents in this area. The memory of these people and this latest tragedy calls to mind the enormous pain which road accidents bring to every door."

The Road Safety Authority has appealed to motorists to drive with extra vigilance over the bank holiday weekend.