A mother and son were rescued from a smoke filled building by Preston Circus community fire station's Red Watch after neighbours raised the alarm.

Although their smoke alarm was in working order, the occupants did not hear the alarm sounding as they were sleeping in a bedroom located two floors above it.

A three-year-old boy, who was recovering from brain surgery a few days before, is thought to have woken in the night, gone downstairs to the kitchen despite the presence of two stair gates, play-cooked with the oven and subsequently caused the incident to occur.

George Wippich, of Preston Circus's Red Watch, reported,

"The neighbours deserve praise for raising the alarm. There are so many false alarms where people think their neighbours have just burnt their toast but on this occasion there was a serious emergency.

We'd remind people as part of your bedtime routine to check that all cookers and electrical appliances are switched off and that areas are kept clear."