Cot death pioneer dies in blaze

Cot death: every parent's nightmare

A professor whose groundbreaking work into cot death syndrome helped save hundreds of lives has died trying to rescue his dog from his blazing home.

John Emery, 84, died in the house where he was born in Aylburton, Gloucestershire.

Professor Emery pioneered research into the causes of infant mortality

His pedigree Airedale terrier Sophie died with him.

Professor Emery and his 82-year-old wife Marjorie fled the house in the Forest of Dean at 0500BST on Monday after being woken by smoke and flames.

But once safely outside he ignored his wife's protests and returned for his dog, which was trapped.

The couple had been renovating the cottage, built by Professor Emery's father Bertram in 1915, as a holiday home.

An off-duty policeman spotted the blaze on his way home from a night-shift and raised the alarm.

But by then Professor Emery, who lived with his wife in Sheffield, had already made his tragic rescue attempt.

Colleagues were in mourning for the greatly admired pioneer into the causes of cot death syndrome.

Reducing the risk of cot death

Place baby on its back to sleep

Do not smoke near baby

Do not let baby get too hot

Keep baby's head uncovered

Place baby at the foot of the cot to prevent wriggling down under the covers

Don't fall asleep on a sofa with baby

If baby is unwell, seek advice promptly

Professor Emery's interest into the causes of early infant death began as a young doctor during the Second World War.

Later, in Sheffield, he carried out post mortems on cot death cases, attempting to establish common symptoms.

Together with colleagues, he piloted a scheme in which health visitors trained to spot danger signs, called on mothers of high-risk babies regularly.

Following a marked fall in cot deaths, the scheme was adopted nationwide.