Quick-thinking neighbours leapt into action to help a pair of terrified teenagers escape unscathed from a blaze at their home.

Special Police Constable Phil Edmondson had just got home from his shift at Odsal when the drama unfolded in King's Road, Crossflatts, in the early hours of yesterday.

The father-of-two and his wife Debi, 33, alerted the emergency services when they heard shouts for help from the 16-year-old girl, her 13-year-old brother and their mother.

Mr Edmondson, 36, said: "They were shouting for help from the upstairs bedroom and there was smoke billowing out of the window.

"I got a ladder out and put it up against the side of their house. Me and another neighbour, Shane Whitford, held the ladder steady and talked the children down.''

His wife added: "The fire brigade said if it wasn't for them being so quick it could have been a lot more serious. Anyone would have done the same thing, though, and we're just glad they're all in one piece.''

The children's mother, who asked not to be named, was brought down a ladder put up by arriving firemen from Bingley and Keighley.

She was treated for the affects of smoke inhalation and was left badly shocked by her ordeal.

Four firemen wearing breathing apparatus broke into the semi-detached house to put out the blaze, which is believed to have started when clothing left near a stove to dry ignited just before 2am.

The blaze left the dining and kitchen area badly damaged and the rest of the house heavily smoke- logged.

Bingley-based firefighter Simon Forbes said: "The neighbours acted very promptly to get the two children out of the house. They probably saved them from suffering more than they did.

"At first we thought the fire was in the room below the bedroom where the woman was, so we didn't dare break down the front door until we'd got her out in case there was a flashover.''

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