A pair of petrified mothers dragged seven screaming children from a burning house after youngsters stuffed toys into an electric heater.

Five children, all under the age of five, were playing alone upstairs as their mothers sat downstairs and it appears their antics may have been to blame.

Firefighters said the youngsters had stuffed toys into the heater, causing the blaze to rip through the house today.

Mum of three Ria Kendall, 24, was with her sister Kylie Mthuzni, 23, and a friend when she smelled burning plastic.

The youngsters had been playing at Mrs Mthuzni's house in Stone Cross Road, Moulsecoomb, when one of them turned on the heater.

As flames tore across the carpet Ms Kendall and mother of four Mrs Mthuzni dragged the children to safety.

Ms Kendall said: "All our stuff was upstairs, but the main thing was the kids. If that hall had caught light we would not have been able to get them out.

"As we pulled them out it was spreading down the hall and smoke was filling up the whole house.

"We were so lucky - if we'd been in the kitchen we wouldn't have smelt the burning."

Firefighters were called at 12.57pm and two engines from Preston Circus were on the scene less than ten minutes later, by which time Ms Kendall and Mrs Mthuzni had managed to extinguish the blaze.

The house did not have any smoke alarms so firefighters fitted some free of charge. For your own free home safety visit, call 0800 1777069.