A SEVEN-year-old girl has been hailed ‘a hero’ for saving her family when a blaze broke out at her home.

Ellie-Marie Hussain ran into her mother’s bedroom after smelling smoke when she got up to use the toilet at midnight.

Her screams also woke sisters’ Charlene, 15 and Anisah, 10 and the family managed to escape unhurt.

The fire started in a tumble drier and thick black smoke spread through the ground floor of the semi-detached house in Charles Street, Nelson.

Clothes and other belonging were completely wrecked in the blaze, which has left the property black inside.

Firefighters have hailed the quick-thinking youngster for having the initiative to alert her family to the danger.

Mum Bobbie Beattie, her sisters and grandparents also added to the praise, saying they were all ‘very proud’ of the Primet Primary School pupil.

Nelson crew manager Robin Barker said the tumble dryer in the kitchen caught fire shortly after midnight yesterday when everybody was in bed.

He said smoke had begun to make its way upstairs when Ellie smelled it.

Miss Beattie, 38, said: “She came into my room and said her throat was sore. I didn’t think anything because she has had a bit of a cough.

“But then she started screaming, saying it was smokey and that it was like hairspray at the top of the stairs.

“I got up and saw the kitchen was absolutely full of smoke, so I got my other two daughters and got out just as the smoke alarm started going off upstairs.

“We all got out quickly. I’m really proud of Ellie, she did a great job.”

Members of the family are staying with relatives and friends just a few doors away, on the Hodge House estate, until the smoke has dispersed.

The family is set to move back into the property in the next few days.

Primet High School pupil Charlene also thanked her little sister for showing such initiative.

She said: “I was going to sleep at about 11.30pm and I could smell something, but I thought it was cinnamon cookies.

“Then my eyes started stinging and I thought it was just because I was tired, but then I woke up at about 12.30am when I heard screaming.

“We’re all really proud of Ellie. My grandad’s even given her some money, but she always loves being the centre of attention anyway.”

Yesterday fire officers were carrying out an investigation into the blaze.

Crew manager Barker said dust may have caught fire, setting the tumble dryer alight.

He said: "The little girl alerted everyone to the fire as the smoke had not reached the alarm.

“She is the hero. She woke up to go to the toilet, possibly when she smelt the smoke. It was lucky that she did.

"The smoke alarm didn't activate on the ground floor but we discovered the battery wasn't working in it.

"People with smoke alarms should test them regularly."

In 2004, three sisters died when a fire was sparked by a faulty tumble drier at their home in Hapton.