A FAMILY of six escaped a house blaze with just seconds to spare when their pet dog raised the alarm.

Eight-month-old MJ, a Bichon Frise, woke her owners when a fire broke out at their four-bedroomed semi-detached house in Buttercup Avenue, Little Hulton, at about 4am on Monday.

Ernie Gritto, aged 45 and his wife Angela, aged 33, and children Dylan, aged four, Thomas, aged five, Matthew, aged nine and Faye, aged 13, were asleep when the fire started in a downstairs room.

Mr Gritto, a site officer for Our Lady and Lancashire Martyrs' RC Primary School, said: "I was woken by a loud bang but I thought it had come from outside.

"I looked outside the window but I couldn't see anything so I went back to bed. Then MJ started yapping and scratching at the bottom of the stairs. I went downstairs, opened the living room door and just saw this cloud of thick, black smoke.

"It hit me right at the back of my throat. I closed the door and started shouting for Angela and the kids to get up and get out of the house.

"We all managed to get out through the front door, including MJ and our other dog George, and the fire brigade were here in seconds. A fireman told me the gas could have ignited at any time. They had to evacuate all the neighbours along our row. The living room is gutted and the rest of the house is badly smoke damaged but we're all OK apart from the two hamsters."

Mum Angela said: "I do think MJ was trying to alert us. She's normally snow white but when she came out of the house her coat was black.

"We don't really know what we're going to do now. We can't stay here."

Neighbour Debra Hamilton, aged 42, said: "The first I knew about it was when a fireman banged on my front door, then I realised there was smoke coming through the house.

"Ernie, Angela and the kids were black with smoke. It was very scary. MJ's always yapping and but thank God she did this time."

The blaze is believed to have been started when a television caught fire. The family's smoke detectors were not working at the time of the fire.