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Pictured: George Peerless circled

Peerless by name, peerless by nature..

The heroics of a Blitz air warden who rescued a family from a flattened home after a devastating German bombing raid on London while being overcome by noxious fumes can be revealed.

George Peerless was off duty when a bomb destroyed the Twitchers home in 1940. The mother and father with their two sons were trapped in the basement under debris which could have collapsed at any moment.

Peerless, responding to their cries, squeezed through a tiny hole to reach them. He grabbed a saw and cut through a dressing table to clear their path, before helping the mother and sons to safety. He then tried to free the father who was trapped by the leg, while poisonous coal gas spread in the basement.

He was awarded the George Medal for gallantry, which is tipped to sell for £6,000 with London-based auctioneers Spink & Son.