A dog died after he saved a family-of-four from a blaze which swept through their home.

A mum and her three children escaped the fierce fire in Chelwood Drive, Allerton, Bradford, at 1am yesterday after they were woken by Zak, their cross-breed pet of eight years.

The dog was then overcome by smoke and died.

Jeff Glover, watch manager of Fair-weather Green fire station, said house occupier Andrea Layton had put on a chip pan for a late-night snack but then fallen asleep in the lounge.

Her children, Ashley, 14, Zoe, 12, and Daniel, ten, were asleep upstairs.

The chip pan burst into flames and started a fire in the kitchen. Smoke spread through the house because doors had been left open, said Mr Glover.

He said: "The family was alerted by the dog which was barking and running around. One of the girls woke and realised the house was filling with smoke. She roused her brother and they got out.

"The mother woke, ran upstairs, dragged her other daughter out of bed and got her out of the house.

"When we arrived there was a severe fire with flames shooting out of the open front door. The dog was still upstairs. We got it outside and spent some time giving it oxygen, but it had been badly affected by the heat and smoke and died.

"We would urge people not to leave chip pans unattended, and to close their internal doors at night. If the doors had been closed the fire would not have been as severe."

Miss Layton, who is in her 30s, was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary for a check up after breathing in smoke and suffering slight burns to her right leg.

Fire crews gave oxygen to her son who had complained of breathing difficulties from the smoke.

The house was extensively damaged. The kitchen was gutted, hall banisters badly charred and the bedrooms blackened by the smoke.

Miss Layton was last night staying with a friend, Selina Shaw.

Miss Shaw, 28, of Abenel Road, Allerton, said: "From what I have been told, Zak helped save them.

"He saved two of the children and went to wake the third but collapsed on the landing because of the smoke."

She said Miss Layton had moved to the house four months ago to be close to her friends.

She added: "Andrea is devastated. Everything she owned was in that house."

e-mail: saima.mir@bradford.newsquest.co.uk