Two children cheated death when they fled from their blazing Staffordshire Moorlands care home.

Two boys, aged 10 and 12, suffered smoke inhalation after escaping from the property in Horsecroft Crescent on Leek's Haregate Estate when they were woken by the smoke alarm at just after midnight on Saturday.

They received treatment at the scene by Staffordshire Ambulance Service paramedics and did not need hospital treatment. The cause of the fire is still being investigated but is not believed to be suspicious. Leek Fire Station spokesman Fred Cummings said: "If had not been for the smoke alarm being triggered we could have been dealing with a tragedy. "All the occupants were asleep in bedrooms but were awoken by the alarm and managed to escape from the house, although the ground floor was well alight. The emergency services were then alerted to the blaze."

The three-bedroom former council house was bought by a private children's care company in 1987. The firm is believed to have another children's home in Buxton Road, Leek. Firemen took an hour to get the blaze under control and remained at the scene for four hours.

A Staffordshire Moorlands District Council building control inspector declared the home a dangerous structure and neighbouring residents have been ordered to stay well clear. Carers at the home look after between three and four children at a time, some of whom are referred from the Manchester area.

A Staffordshire County Council social services spokesman said today that children at the home had been rehoused in temporary accommodation.