The mother of the four-year-old boy who died after a fire at his Keighley home ran to a neighbour's to dial 999 before dashing back to get him and his brother, ten, out of the smoke-filled house it emerged today.

Julie Mitchell lives beside the small detached house in Sunny Hill Grove, Keighley, where yesterday’s tragedy took place, she told how shortly before 2pm the distraught woman appeared at her door.

"She came running to me for help saying 'can I use your phone to call the fire brigade'," Miss Mitchell said.

"I think in all the panic she couldn't find her own phone in the house.

"As soon as she'd called we both went into the house, which was full of smoke and she went upstairs and brought down both the boys.

"They were covered with black from all the smoke. She managed to get them outside of the house.

"It was such an upsetting sight to see. It was terrible and it all happened so quick.

"The firemen got here very fast and everybody did what they could.”

Miss Mitchell, hugging her own four-year-old daughter, continued: "My heart just goes out to the family - it's so awful.

"I only knew the family to smile and say hello to, but they seemed very nice. They'd only been here a couple of months.

VIDEO: FOUR-YEAR-OLD BOY DIES AFTER KEIGHLEY HOUSE BLAZE

"An old lady lived here until about two years ago and it's been rented out since then, although this is only the second family to move in."

She said the boys had played happily in the enclosed back garden during the summer holidays.

"I saw them playing in the garden from my back window,” Miss Mitchell said.

"I didn't know them really, my daughter didn't play with them or anything like that.

"It's so tragic - I keep thinking about the older boy who saw his brother and will always remember everything that happened."