A terrier has saved the lives of hos owner and her pregnant daughter when a fire started at their house in Merseyside.

Rocky, a terrier, alerted six-months pregnant Natalie Wilson, 19, by frantically scratching at her bedroom door. She woke her mother Kathy Williams, 41, who was asleep in another room, before calling for help from their neighbours in Huyton.

An investigation has begun into the, which is being treated as suspicious.

A spokeswoman for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said the two women and their dog were rescued unharmed from an upstairs bedroom window.

She added: "The dog managed to wake up one of its owners by scratching at the door. It seems he was a real hero."