A LITTER of four-week-old puppies and their mother have been rescued from a fire in Leigh.

The seven black labrador pups and their two-year-old mother Bramble were sleeping in an outhouse at the rear of their home in Ferndale Walk when it caught fire on Tuesday lunchtime.

Next-door neighbour Elaine Timms, aged 24, spotted smoke coming from the building when she let her own dog outside just before midday. Her three-year-old daughter Nadine Woodhead and four-year-old niece Amy Timms ran to alert another neighbour Sandra Jones, aged 45, and the pair attempted to smash a padlock on the door of the brick building to free the animals.

Elaine, who was still tearful after the traumatic incident, said: "We knew that was where the dogs would be and when we couldn't hear them we thought they were dead.

"There was a hammer lying nearby, but when we couldn't break the lock we contacted the emergency services."

Firefighters arrived from Leigh within minutes and forced their way into the building. All seven pups - six dogs and a bitch - were alive and seemed no worse off for their ordeal.

Elaine said: "Bramble was cowering in the corner and trying to protect her pups. I think if they had been in their for another 10 minutes they would have died."

Owners Sonia Kitchener, aged 30, and Terence Poole, aged 48, arrived back to the house just as Bramble and the pups were released. Sonia said: "I can't thank my neighbours enough. I dread to think what could have happened."