A MOTHER told last night how a smoke alarm saved her family after her children started a blaze by playing with a cigarette lighter in their bedroom.

Sheryl Armstrong and partner Caley Wallace fled from the smoke-filled house after rescuing her young son and daughter from an upstairs room early yesterday.

The fire broke out in one of the youngsters' bedrooms while the couple were sleeping, and the frightened children huddled together in another room.

Ms Armstrong, 23, was woken by the alarm, one of two electrically-powered devices she asked Durham City Council to fit in the three-bedroom house.

She managed to alert neighbours, who dialled 999 and, with Mr Wallace, braved heat and thick smoke to take son James, five, and daughter Chloe, three, to safety.

The fire, in Kelloe, near Durham City, was tackled by fire crews from Wheatley Hill and Peterlee and was confined to the bedroom, although there was widespread smoke damage and the family may need rehousing.

Ms Armstrong said the alarms had probably saved the family's lives and urged other people to fit them.

She said her son started the fire in his bedroom by playing with a cigarette lighter near a toy tent.

She checked the bedroom, but was driven back by choking smoke and ran downstairs looking for the youngsters.

Mr Wallace, 24, also tried to search the bedroom, but was also defeated by the smoke, but at the third attempt the couple managed to find the children and take them downstairs.

Ms Armstrong said: "If it was one of the old alarms we had, we wouldn't have heard it. The one upstairs is linked to the one downstairs and they both sounded and they were installed last year.

"I would recommend them because once one goes off the other does too and they are really loud.

"I'm still shaking. All I can think about is what would have happened if I didn't get the children out."

Steve Owers, station manager for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Brigade, said the hard-wired smoke alarms had proved their worth.

"If it hadn't been for the alarms, it could have been an awful lot worse. I wouldn't like to think what would have happened if there had been no alarms."

People in County Durham can get a free fire safety check and alarms will be fitted free if they are needed.

They are asked to call their local fire station or the brigade's headquarters on 0191-384 3381.