Girl, 11, in fire rescue

AN 11-year-old girl was praised for her bravery yesterday after copying characters from the television show London's Burning to rescue three children trapped in a blaze.

Carla Hutton dashed into a burning flat near her home in Whalley Range, Manchester, on Monday night and and found Thomas Comey, seven, his brother Stephen, five, and three-year-old sister Siobhan, screaming in a bedroom.

Carla kept her head and used a technique she had seen in an episode of the series, making the children crawl on their hands and knees while she led them to safety down a smoke-filled corridor.

Another neighbour had already rescued the children's mother, Michelle, 25, from the blaze which police said had been started deliberately. A woman was arrested and was being questioned.