TWO teenage sisters who rescued three of their family from a fire are to be honoured for their bravery.

Without the cool-headed actions of 14-year-old Zoe Baker and her sister, Kimberley, 13, their two younger sisters and brother would certainly have perished in the County Durham blaze last December.

Fortunately for the family from Murton, Zoe and Kimberley put into practice lessons they had learnt at a police-run safety workshop.

The teenagers had been babysitting their sisters - ten-year-old Sky and five-year-old Shannon - and their eight-year-old brother, Dan, just before Christmas, when they heard a smoke alarm go off in their Toft Crescent home.

Zoe and Kimberley ran upstairs where, despite the intense heat and smoke, they were able to reach their sisters and brother.

While Kimberley carried them to safety, Zoe switched off the electrics and alerted neighbours, who called the fire brigade.

The children were taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.

Their mother, Pauline, and her partner, Alan Parry, said yesterday: "There was nothing left of the beds where the three younger ones had been sleeping and there is no doubt, if the girls had not acted so quickly we would have been going to three funerals over Christmas."

To mark their heroism and signal the value of the annual Easington District Schools Safety Carousel, the girls are to be presented with certificates and gift vouchers by Durham's Chief Constable, George Hedges, on April 15.