A PHOENIX has risen from the ashes of a terrifying house fire.

Proud Vicky Lavelle, 24, gave birth to Phoenix Skye on Saturday lunchtime - a year after narrowly surviving a blaze at her Kidderminster home.

And delighted grandmother Julie Lavelle hailed the arrival of the 8lb 3oz baby as a "miracle". Vicky Lavelle with daughter Phoenix Skye Smith.

Her assessment is hard to argue with - Julie helped her daughter cheat death for a second time when she collapsed with a blocked windpipe less than two months after the fire in Usmere Road.

After the accidental blaze, which saw her son Anthony rescued by neighbours and Vicky dragged out by firefighters, the outlook was so grim she received the last rites while in intensive care in Birmingham's Selly Oak Hospital.

Now she is enduring a long and painful recovery from burns to her arms and back.

But Julie was proud at the way her daughter handled the surprise pregnancy: "She did really well. We all helped her as much as we could and I would like to say thanks to all the staff at Worcestershire Royal Hospital who helped her through her 13-hour labour."

Vicky, who has two other children - Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Anthony - was reunited with ex-partner Mark Smith, 35, after the fire and the family have since moved to a flat below Julie's in Grasmere Close. A date has not yet been set for their wedding.

Mark is now a full-time carer for Vicky, who has a tracheotomy tube fitted into her windpipe and has difficulty speaking and breathing.

In a couple of months she will face a big operation to remove the growth which caused last October's near-fatal collapse from her windpipe.

Julie believes Phoenix Skye will play a huge role in Vicky's ongoing recuperation.

She said: "She's our miracle. Hopefully she will give Vicky an extra bit of confidence and something to look forward to."