A PANIC-STRICKEN family had to jump for their lives when they fell prey to a second suspected arson attack in a week and had to escape through the bedroom windows of their Frankley home.

A smoke alarm installed at the Devon Road property saved the family of four when their kitchen caught fire and they found their home in a swirl of smoke at 12.30am last Friday.

Arsonists are also believed to have set fire to some papers on the family's porch on Tuesday April 2.

Seventeen-year-old James O'Connell said: "I woke up in the early hours of the morning and couldn't breathe.

"The bedroom was filled with smoke and it was pitch black.

"I started panicking, but managed to get to my bedroom window, onto the roof and escaped to safety."

Brothers Jonathan, aged 15, and 20-year-old Wayne, and mum, Elizabeth O'Connell, were all in the house when the incident happened, but managed to clamber to safety without injury with the help of a neighbour.

But the stunned teenager told of the heartbreak when their pet dog, Sally, died last Friday morning after becoming trapped in the kitchen.

Fellow Devon Road resident Albert Taroni said: "My wife shouted about 12.30am and told me there was a fire engine going down the road.

"We heard the family managed to escape onto the porch roof and went to a neighbouring house."

West Midlands Police said there was extensive smoke damage to the kitchen and hallway.

They confirmed they were treating it as a suspected arson attack and were carrying out further investigations.

West Midlands Fire Brigade's assistant divisional officer, Paul Thomason, said: "In this case the smoke alarm saved the family's life.

"It's important for everyone to have a working smoke alarm in their home and to have an escape plan in the event of a fire."

Anyone with information about the incident should call police on 0845 113 5000.