A PUPPY escaped a house fire by pawing open an upstairs bedroom window and jumping 15ft to safety.

Rottweiler Ernie, who had to jump a toddler safety gate in the Bolton house to get upstairs, escaped unhurt.

The fire started in the kitchen of the house on Tonge Moor Road, after Steph Hogg and Steven Bowers left for work.

Ernie was left in the kitchen, penned in by a toddler safety gate with a radio for company.

As smoke filled the room, 10-month-old Ernie vaulted the gate and ran to a bedroom window which had been left ajar.

He pawed it open, then leaped into the front garden and went out into the street.

He was recognised by the owner of a nearby pet shop, who discovered the fire as he walked him home.

Steph, 24, a carer, said: "I think Ernie is fantastic. He's very lucky he didn't break any bones. He could have died."

The blaze left the kitchen gutted and the house smoke-damaged and the fire service is investigating.

It is believed to centre around a cooker, with kitchen cabinets then catching fire.

A report has concluded that it is likely to be `accidental'.

Steph, who has had Ernie since he was six weeks old, added: "We left the window open by about an inch - and we're so glad that we did."