A MOTHER has been praised by fire chiefs for her reaction to a blaze in her daughter's bedroom.

The woman discovered that candles left by her daughter on a set of drawers had set alight papers.

She was able to shut the bedroom door, preventing the fire from spreading, and led her daughter and two school friends to safety.

Firefighters used breathing apparatus to tackle the blaze at a detached house in Compton Grove, Darlington, yesterday evening.

Station officer Tom Simms said: "The family were very lucky as it could have been a lot worse."