TWO men were rescued, including one from a roof, after a blaze swept through the kitchen of a house on Teesside.

Gerald Winn scrambled out of his bedroom window on to the roof of an extension at his home in Albion Terrace, Boosbeck, east Cleveland, while his brother, Dennis, left by the front door after initial attempts at fighting the fire.

Plucky neighbour Donna Fawcett, 17, had noticed the fire and raced into the burning house to raise the brothers.

The blaze broke out in the early hours of the morning after a chip pan left unattended set fire to the cooker and the kitchen.

Retained firemen covering the area were themselves asleep in bed in their homes when the alarm was raised, but took only nine minutes to reach the remote village.

An ambulance crew treated the brothers for the effects of smoke inhalation.

The house was not fitted with a smoke detector which would have given the brothers more advance warning of the fire.

Retained Station Officer Peter Holmes said: "It was life-threatening. It is always a good idea to formulate an escape plan and essential to fit smoke detectors.

"The fire brigade is always available to go out to advise people."