CANBERRA (Reuters) – A love story between two badly burnt koalas rescued from Australia's deadliest bushfires has provided some heart-warming relief after days of devastation and the loss of over 180 lives.

The story of Sam and her new boyfriend Bob emerged after volunteer fire-fighter Dave Tree used a mobile phone to film the rescue of the bewildered female found cowering in a burnt out forest at Mirboo North, 150 km (90 miles) southeast of Melbourne.

Tree, who has been a volunteer fire-fighter for 26 years, said it was extremely rare to get so close to a koala so he asked his colleague Brayden Groen, 20, to film him.