NEIGHBOURS rescued a woman and two young children from a house fire early today.

The woman and the children, aged two and five months, were trapped on the first floor of a house in Warwick Road, Atherton.

Neighbours propped a ladder up outside a window and formed a chain to pass the children down to the ground.

The children were suffering from the effects of smoke and were taken to hospital and the woman was suffering from shock.

A Leigh fire service spokesman said the fire had started from a chip pan that had been left unattended.

He added that the kitchen had been severely damaged in the fire.

The spokesman said: "The neighbours did a cracking job rescuing the woman and babies."