Toddler twins saved from house fire

The Wellesbourne family - including three-year-old twins - fled their Wellesbourne house after a kitchen blaze directly below where they were sleeping.

They managed to escape unhurt thanks to a the sound of a smoke alarm and a quick-thinking neighbour who managed to extinguish the flames before firefighters arrived.

The family, who live along Hunscote Lane, were awoken around 12.30am on Monday after flames in the kitchen set off the smoke alarm.

The fire was caused by an extractor fan which was left running to circulate cool air.

When it burned out, it caused a fire in the roof space of the kitchen directly below where the twins were asleep.

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service said what saved the house, and the family, was the quick-thinking actions of a neighbour who isolated the power and extinguish the flames before emergency services arrived.

And officers are now urging every family ensures their homes are fitted with working alarms and help save lives.

Watch commander for Wellesbourne, Andy McKelivie said: “On this occasion the family had a lucky escape thanks the early warning from their smoke alarms and the quick action of their neighbour.

“Had there been no alarms, we could well have been looking at a different story.

“Please don’t delay in fitting a smoke alarm in your home. They give you the early warning you need and they ensure that you get to keep the ones you love safe.”

Wellesbourne Fire crew attended the incident to find the fire had been put out.

They checked the roof space to ensure the fire was completely out and helped ventilate the house.