SOCIAL services staff have launched an investigation after a two-year-old boy was rescued from a burning flat by a neighbour.

After hearing the smoke alarm in flats on Worcester Close, Bury, the neighbour, who does not wish to be named, rushed round and grabbed the youngster from a burning room.

Two-year-old Dafyd Hargreaves was said to be playing with matches when he set fire to his bed clothes.

The youngster was taken to Bury General Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, but was not detained. Dafyd and mother Tracy were not at their flat the day after the fire (Thursday, May 29), and neighbours said they had not been seen since being taken to hospital.

Assistant director of Bury social services, Mr Jim Wilson, confirmed that they were investigating the incident.

"We always take these situations very seriously. And we want to be sure of exactly what has happened and what consequences it has for the safety of the child," he said.

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