TWO young sisters helped save seven children from a burning house after they remembered a lesson in personal safety.

Rachael and Emma Mawdsley, 12 and 11, attended one of the Crucial Crew events run in North Yorkshire each year to show youngsters how to deal with emergencies.

The lessons helped them when an electrical fault at their home, at Claro Barracks, near Ripon, caused a fire.

When the fire broke out in July, family friends were staying with the Mawdsleys, and nine youngsters were in the house.

The girls' mother, Julia, woke to the sound of their dog, Charlie, barking and found smoke billowing out of the living room.

Her soldier husband, Paul, was on the way back from Iraq at the time. Mrs Mawdsley gathered her five children and her friends' four youngsters in one room.

Rachael and Emma kept the other youngsters calm and then helped take them to safety as the fire brigade arrived.

Yesterday, the pair were awarded with commendations by Chief Fire Officer Eric Clark at a ceremony at Ripon fire station.

Mr Clark said: "Emma and Rachael showed remarkable composure when they were faced with a very frightening situation.

"They displayed courage and put the safety of the younger children before their own. I am delighted to award them a commendation for their actions.

"This incident is evidence of the value of Crucial Crew. It arms children with sufficient knowledge to enable them to know what to do in an emergency.