THE youngest of three girls who died in a house fire in Hapton narrowly escaped death almost two years ago when she was rescued from a Blackburn swimming pool.

Gemma Waddington, who was then five years old, was rescued by lifeguards who gave her the kiss of life after she nearly drowned during a family outing.

Lifeguards Kath O'Brien and Heather Crane spotted that the little girl was unconscious in the water at the Waves fun complex in Blackburn after going to look for her father.

Barry Waddington had been watching his three daughters play in the shallow end of the pool before going to the toilet.

When he got back his two older daughters, Hayley and Louise, were still there but Gemma had disappeared.

She had fallen in at the deep end and had to be rescued by the lifeguards.

They dived in to the pool and pulled her on to the side where they gave her the kiss of life.

When Mr Waddington arrived at the crowded side of the pool Gemma had been resuscitated and was moving her eyes.

After the incident Mr Waddington said: "The doctors have said that had the lifeguards not been so quick to react, things could have been a lot more serious, which is something I really don't want to think about."

Gemma was taken to Blackburn Infirmary, where she was kept in overnight for observation.

The next day Gemma and her dad went back to Waves with a box of chocolates and a card to thank the lifeguards who saved her life.