Three children dead and mum critical in Bridlington house fire (Video)

Residents of Clarence Avenue described their desperate attempts to save the children, named locally as three-year-old Maddie, AJ, five, and William, nine.

Devastated neighbours said the unconscious youngsters were taken out of the house "like rag dolls" by firefighters and told how paramedics and a local nurse fought for an hour to save them on the road outside.

Fire crews and police were called to the cul-de-sac, which is just a short walk from the beach, at 11.58pm yesterday.

The children's mother, named by police as 27-year-old Samantha Hudson, was also taken from the house.

She is in a critical condition in hospital in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

Nurse Lesley Salisbury, 59, described how she helped perform first aid on the youngsters and ended up going to hospital herself.

She said she ran out in her dressing gown after she was woken in the night, but first thought smoke filling the street was fog.

She said: "I saw flames coming from the bottom of the house and I ran out. To be honest I just can't remember getting from my house to there. But a firefighter brought out a little boy.

"I told him I was a nurse and I started to work on him. I think I just went into nurse mode.

"I was doing chest compressions and the firefighters were doing the oxygen. After that it was just a blur, a dreadful blur.

"Some of the neighbours said I worked on the other two as well but I don't really remember.

"I do remember the firefighters bringing them out; they were like little rag dolls."

Mrs Salisbury, who works as a nurse at Hull Prison, added: "It is just an awful tragedy."

She said she believed that she, firefighters and paramedics worked on the children for about an hour.

Referring to the little girl who died, Mrs Salisbury said: "She was a little angel, a beautiful little girl."

She said they were "lovely children".

Mrs Salisbury also said she managed to save the family's cat from the blaze.

Another neighbour, Susan Smith, described how she heard screams from the children next door and her husband tried to get in the back until he was dragged away.

Mrs Smith said the children played with her grandchildren.

She said: "I could hear them screaming. It was terrible.

"My husband tried to get in but the fire was so fierce. I've never seen anything like it.

"I don't know if it was the high wind fanning the flames.

"If I'd have gone out of the front door I would have been dead. It was that fierce."

Mrs Smith said another man was also trying to get into the house but then dragged her husband away, saying they would die if they went in.

Like many other neighbours, she remembered the little girl as "just a beautiful, beautiful little one".

She said the scene outside her house was "just terrible" with paramedics working on the children in the street as firefighters battled the flames.

Neighbour Edith Dawson, 86, said she watched as "fierce" flames tore through the property.

"It's heart-breaking. I had seen the children playing in their grandmother's back yard. They hadn't been in the house all that long, probably no more than six months," she said.

"It was terrible, with the wind as well. It was so fierce. There were flames coming from the top and you couldn't see for the smoke. It was terrible. It must be heart-breaking for them, and so near Christmas."

Superintendent Mike Duggleby, of Humberside Police, said: "Police, fire service and forensic experts are investigating the cause of the fire. I can say that we believe the fire started within the house and there is nothing to indicate that it was started deliberately."

He added: "Our hearts go out to the families, friends and neighbours who knew the family and the many neighbours who came out to assist us and try to attempt rescue last night. I personally want to thank them for their assistance, bravery and their courage."

Mark Rhodes, of Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, described the tragedy as "probably the most difficult, most challenging type of incident that we can ever be expected to deal with".

He said: "I don't think anybody in their career ever expects to face the trauma of a fire involving children and the very difficult working conditions of last night.

"The extent of the fire damage is considerable: the property was very heavily smoke-clogged when fire crews arrived. Breathing apparatus teams were inside the building inside five minutes.

"They carried out a very thorough search of the building and recovered casualties from the upper floors.

"The casualties were brought outside the building and both fire crews and neighbours worked tirelessly on carrying out resuscitation alongside the paramedics."

Tonight, people living in the area continued to leave flowers in front of the burned-out shell of the house's bay window.

A police cordon was still in place around the houses immediately adjacent to the building.

Members of Ms Hudson's family who live just around the corner said they did not want to comment.