A SEVEN-year-old girl whose clothes accidentally set on fire died of septicaemia after she suffered 40 per cent burns, an inquest heard.

Anum Kauser Dalvi was watching television in the lounge at her home in Randal Street, Blackburn, on November 25 last year, when her ankle length skirt was set alight by a gas heater.

An inquest yesterday was told how Anum, a pupil at St Michael with St John's Primary School, had been watching TV with her brother Mauzam, then 19, when her parents Kaneez and Abdul went out.

Mauzam went upstairs to get ready for work, and a few minutes later he heard Anum screaming and found her on the stairs "covered in flames".

He smothered the flames and doused Anum in cold water in the shower before calling Mrs Dalvi and dialling 999.

Firefighters and paramedics attended less than 10 minutes later and administered emergency first aid before taking Anum to the former Queen's Park Hospital.

She was transferred later that day to the burns unit at Booth Hall Children's Hospital in Manchester, where she was diagnosed with having 40per cent burns, with the worst injuries to her lower limbs, but also to her torso and arms.

The court heard how the extensive injuries left Anum extremely vulnerable to infection because the skin barrier had been breached.

Although she initially did well and was healing, on December 2 she was transferred to Pendlebury's Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, as her condition was deteriorating and she was septicaemic.

Consultant paediatric intensivist Dr David Stewart said Anum was admitted with a dangerously high temperature in excess of 41 degrees.

Dr Stewart said: "Such a high fever places a hugh metabolic demand on the body, and in the case of severe burns, the heart is already compromised so the body was stripped of nutrients and oxygen."

She deteriorated further and died on January 24. A post mortem examination showed cause of death as septicaemia, which caused multiple organ failure. Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Michael Singleton said: "It would seem that Anum was stood too close to the gas fire which ignited her skirt and led to extensive burns.

"Despite the best efforts of all the team involved in her care, she suffered cardiac failure after which the situation became irretrievable."

At the time of her death Mr and Mrs Dalvi, Mauzum and older sister Shabnam, paid tribute to Anum as a happy little girl who loved dressing up in pink and was "always smiling".