Dogsey

A husky puppy broke out of her cage and saved a family of five after a suspected arson attack on their home.

The 10-month-old dog woke Mark Johnston by pawing at him and barking as he slept downstairs - before bounding up the stairs to alert his partner and three children.

A wheelie bin had been pushed up to the front door of the house in Breightmet, Bolton, Greater Manchester, at around 4am on Sunday and set on fire.

The husky, called Araya, forced her way out of her cage under the stairs as smoke was starting to creep under the front door.

Mr Johnston, who had been sleeping downstairs as he was due to leave early for work on Sunday morning, said: 'Without Araya, we would probably be dead.

I was sound asleep and the door between me and the front door was shut so I was not going to wake up. She came in and was pawing at me and barking.

'Everyone was asleep upstairs so you dread to think what might have happened.'

Mr Johnston, who called 999 after being woken, used a wet cloth to open the front door, and was met by flames shooting up around the door frame.

He said: 'As I was calling the fire brigade, Araya ran upstairs to get the others up.

'The smoke was coming through the door and she has somehow got out of the cage. She must have bent it a lot to force it open.

The couple had only had the puppy for a week before the blaze.