A FOUR year old girl died and her pregnant mum was injured in a fire at their home in Peckers Hill Road, Sutton at midday on Sunday.

The fire, thought to have started upstairs, was reported at 12.07pm when the child's mother, Susan Diane Bowes (25), ran out screaming for help from neighbours.

Firecrews from St Helens rushed to the scene along with police and emergency paramedics. Firefighters used breathing apparatus to get to an upstairs front bedroom where four year old Emma Louise Bowes was trapped. Despite pulling her out and rushing both her and her mother to Whiston Hospital, the little girl was pronounced dead on arrival.

Neighbour Julie Kilgallon, who lived opposite, was good friends with both Susan and Emma and told the Star: "I found out what was happening when my daughter, Nicola, who played with Emma, ran in to tell us there was a fire at Sue's home, but we didn't find out till later that Emma was trapped inside. Sue was in a terrible state, she was lying on the floor crying that her baby was still in the house and I tried to get inside to help but one of the firemen stopped me."

Another neighbour, Pauline Forsyth, added: "My son, Paul saw the fire from our living room where we were having our dinner and we saw Paddy Grimley, a pensioner who lives further down the street, climbing up a ladder to smash the bedroom window. We couldn't see any flames, just thick, black smoke."

Susan was discharged from hospital a day later after receiving treatment for smoke inhalation, as was her neighbour Paddy Grimley, who is in his 70s and suffered an angina attack after climbing up the ladder in an attempt to rescue the little girl.

Fire services are currently investigating the cause of the fire but a spokesman said suspicious circumstances were not suspected.

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