Warning for dog owners after two pets escape from South Shields flat blaze
Two dogs are lucky to be alive after they were rescued by firefighters from a blaze at a South Shields flat.
Two engines from South Shields Community Fire Station were called to a ground floor flat on Devonshire Street at 9.36am to reports of a fire in the sitting room.
The fire was caused by an electric heater which had been knocked over.
Firefighters managed to rescue the pair of Staffordshire Bull Terriers from the flat and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has issued a warning to pet owners to make sure electrical equipment is switched off when not at home.
A spokeswoman for the fire service said: "There is a clear message that if you have got animals in the property, don't leave on any electrical equipment.
"If we had turned up half an hour later if could have been quite different."