A girl who escaped a house fire which killed her mother, auntie and uncle, has been left brain damaged.

It is thought that two-year-old Megan Yates' mother, Gail, shielded her body as fire raged through the house in Pelham Street, Middlesbrough.

Gail, 27, died in the fire along with her brother, Lee, 18, and sister, Joanne, 22.

Since the tragedy, Megan has been in treated in Newcastle General Hospital.

She has had to have some of her fingers and toes amputated, required extensive skin grafts and needs plastic surgery.

Doctors at the hospital are this week carrying out scans to assess the severity of the brain damage.

Megan's grandparents, Rose Yates and Eddie Rainbow, who also escaped the blaze at their home, have been visiting the youngster at hospital.

Miss Yates said: "She is doing okay and responds to our voices when we talk to her.

"Now we are just waiting for the results of the scans before we will know how badly she has been affected."

Megan is expected to stay in hospital until after Christmas when she will live with her aunt, Kerry, 21, in Thorntree, Middlesbrough.

She will become Megan's legal guardian and her sons, Aaron, five, and Jack, three, are looking forward to welcoming her to their home.

Kerry said: "They are already calling her 'sister' and can't wait for her to live with us. It is what Gail would have wanted.

"We are going to do the spare room out as a nursery with her toys, but my parents are still waiting to be re-housed, so we can't get started yet.

"It has been a really difficult time for all of us but we are getting there."

A Middlesbrough Council spokesman said the authority had received an application from Mr Rainbow and confirmed it was dealing with it but said the council wanted to make sure, as a stroke victim, he was housed in a suitable property.

Megan's aunt, Lynn Thompson, 52, is organising a trust fund for the toddler.

An appeal night has been planned for November 17, from 7.30pm, at the RAOB Club, in Wilton Street.