A FAMILY of four escaped with minutes to spare when a burning chip pan filled their home with smoke.

They probably owe their lives to a woman who telephoned the fire brigade after looking out of her window and seeing the kitchen ablaze in a house a street away.

"Another five to ten minutes and they might not have got out,'' said sub officer Bill Constantine. "The smoke was spreading and so thick, and the fire was taking a hold.''

Each member of the family had to be given oxygen as firefighters led them to safety from the house, in Crossfell Road, on Middlesbrough's Berwick Hills council estate, early yesterday.

They were all taken to hospital for a check-up, suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.

The unnamed family had been asleep and firefighters had to break down the front door to get in.

Then, wearing breathing apparatus, they carried out a search of the building to find everyone.

Mr Constantine said not only had the frying pan been left on the heat, the television was switched on, too.

The smoke detector did not have a battery.

"It was not a severe fire but they had left every door open, and thick black smoke was spreading very quickly through out the ground floor and up the stairs,'' he said.

"We could see the flames shooting from the kitchen.''