Two kittens had to be revived by firefighters after crews rescued a woman and two young children from a house fire.

There were cheers from anxious neighbours who watched on as fire crews gave oxygen to the two kittens that were unresponsive after being pulled from the fire at a home in Station Road, Loudwater, on Wednesday evening.

The fire broke out in the kitchen and was only small, but because all the doors in the house were open, the whole place quickly became smoke-logged.

A woman and her two daughters, aged two and five, had to be rescued by firefighters through a first-floor window at around 8.45pm on July 29.

But the fire crews - from High Wycombe and Beaconsfield - also found two unresponsive kittens in the kitchen and rushed them outside to give them oxygen.

The worried family and their neighbours watched on in horror as the crews desperately tried to bring them round - and there were cheers and rounds of applause when they came round.

The family were left to be treated by South Central Ambulance Service.

Describing the situation, station commander Andrew Holtzhausen from Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service said: "On attendance the Beaconsfield crew saw the distressed young family on the first floor and rapidly effected a snatch rescue and safely extricated a two-year-old girl, a five-year-old girl and their mother.

"The family were safe but understandably shaken by the incident. A neighbour invited them into their house to assist in calming the children down because they were fearing for their pets.

"The property was heavily smoke-logged due to all the doors been open, and crews discovered a small kitchen fire, which they rapidly extinguished. The crews then found two unresponsive kittens in the kitchen and started resuscitating them outside with oxygen.

"They successfully brought both kittens round to the huge delight of onlookers and the two children alike. A chorus of applause arose as crews handed the kittens to the family.

"I would like to highlight good practice and professionalism of all attending crews, the decisive incident command choices and the manner in which the crews carried themselves throughout the incident."