Blaze woman and children rescued

A woman and three children are "very lucky to be alive" after being rescued when an unattended frying pan sparked a kitchen blaze in Berkshire.

Firefighters carried the three children, aged five to 10, along with the woman from the flat in Glencoe House, Deveron Drive, Tilehurst.

The alarm was raised at 0320 BST by a neighbour who heard the flat's smoke alarm sounding.

Firefighter Graham Chandler said the alarm made a vital difference.

Mr Chandler said: "They were very lucky indeed, without the warning from the smoke alarm another few minutes could have been fatal.

"The flat had a hard-wired [built-in] smoke detector which activated and a neighbour heard the alarm sounding and called us.

"When we arrived, the flat was full of smoke and the flames from the pan in the kitchen were already up to the ceiling.

"If it wasn't for the vital extra minutes warning given by the smoke detector, this could have been a very different story."