Father throws children to safety

Mrs Crawford was taken to hospital for treatment

A family-of-four has escaped a house fire after a father threw his two young daughters out of an upper window.

David Crawford and his wife Margaret also leapt from their Aberdeenshire home to escape dense smoke.

Mrs Crawford was the only person injured in the incident when she fractured her leg as she landed.

The couple were woken by a smoke alarm in their house in Craigview Place, Ballater, shortly before 0500 GMT on Wednesday.

Mr Crawford was able to throw his two children - one-year-old Hannah and Amy, aged four - from an upper floor window.

Grampian Police confirmed that, with the exception of Mrs Crawford, the family were not injured.

Mrs Crawford was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where she received treatment for her fractured leg.

The other family members did not require hospital treatment.

Police said the house was badly smoke damaged and the ground floor suffered fire damage.

Grampian Fire Brigade attended the blaze and put out a fire in the living room.

The blaze is thought to have been caused by an electrical fault in a television set in the living room.