Woman saves dogs from house fire - but forgets grandson

A British woman saved her four pet greyhounds from her burning house - but forgot about her grandson, who was asleep upstairs.

Luckily, firefighters got to 11-year-old Curtis in time and helped him scramble out of the bedroom window, the Daily Mail reports.

Mandy Hands, 45, of Coventry in the West Midlands, rescued her beloved dogs Amy, Arnie, Mannie and Clyde and her 16-year-old son Ashley but forget Curtis was staying at the house when fire broke out on Monday morning.

She told the paper she was racked with guilt for forgetting her grandson.

"I can't get over the fact I left my grandson in bed," said Mrs Hands.

"He's visiting from Portsmouth and I was panicking so much trying to get everyone out that I forgot he was in here. I never even checked on him.

"It was only when we were outside and someone said, 'Is there anyone else in there?' that I remembered him, but no one could get back in.

"I stood outside shouting up at the bedroom window and that was when the fire engines arrived."

Lee McDonald of Binley Fire Station said the family were "lucky to be alive".

"One of the lads located him [Curtis] in the back bedroom," said Mr McDonald. "He was asleep so was a bit shocked to see two firemen standing there.

"It was too hot to bring him down the stairs so we took him out of the window and down a ladder."

The family were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation from the fire, which is believed to have been started by a faulty toaster, said the Daily Mail. The house had a smoke alarm but its batteries had run out.

- NZ Herald staff