Christine Cammock was sitting in her living room, unaware a blaze had started in her grandson's bedroom in a loft conversion.

Neighbour Sandra Ord, 51, who lives opposite Christine in Morpeth Street, Horden, saw the smoke billowing from the loft window and ran to alert her unsuspecting friend.

Shocked Christine immediately dialled 999, and fire crews from Peterlee raced to the scene.

The loft bedroom was completely destroyed, but firefighter managed to stop the blaze from spreading to the rest of the house.

Christine, 57, said: "If it had not been for her, the whole place could have gone up in smoke.

"I was in the sitting room, I could smell burning but I thought it was something outside.

"The neighbour came over and I rushed upstairs and just rushed back down and phoned the fire brigade.

"We got out the house when we saw it. I grabbed the phone and came outside.

"It did not take fire crews long to get here but it seemed ages."
Christine said that she had been just about to leave for an appointment when her neighbour rushed over.

She said: "If nobody had noticed it and I had gone out, God knows what could have happened."

Christine's husband, Robert Cammock, 59, a builder, received a call at work alerting him to what happened.

A total of 13 firefighters attended the scene shortly after 1pm on Friday, and spent around three hours dealing with the situation.
Christine said that her and her grandson Aaron Cammock, 15, whose bedroom is in the loft, were at home at the time along with one of the youngsters friend.

Christine added: "At the end of the day we have had a lucky escape. It's just stuff that's gone and it's lives that count."
Peterlee Fire Station crew manager Ray Sillito said: "There was a bedroom in the loft, and when we arrived the room was well alight.

"We used breathing apparatus and jets to knock the fire down and put it out.

"The bedroom has been gutted. There was quite a bit of damage to the roof and all the property is gone."

The officer said although the fire was confined to one room, there was also water damage to the first floor and he estimated the damage to be between £15,000 and £20,000.

Fire crews believe a cigarette left on the bed could have been the cause of the blaze, though the homeowners think an electrical fault may have sparked it.