TWO beloved family dogs were given mouth-to mouth resuscitation in a desperate attempt to bring them back to life after they were dragged from a blazing Rubery home.

Bromsgrove firefighters tried in vain to revive the pair of Labradors outside the burning Gannow Lane home on Sunday morning.

Homeowners Bobby and Gail Nolan, and their four-year-old son, Elliot, were out at a swimming pool when the fire broke out at around 10.30am.

Neighbours raised the alarm and tried to break in to the house to save the dogs. They also managed to contact the family to tell them what had happened before they arrived home.

Speaking exclusively to the Advertiser/Messenger Gail said they were utterly devastated at the loss of their dogs, Samson and Zeus, aged seven and eight.

"We have had the boys since they were puppies and they are our family. They have had so many illnesses but they have got through them and now this happens.

"The house is gutted, particularly the kitchen and we will not be able to move back in for about three months, in which time we will be staying with family."

Gail's sister Julie Tuffin said: "We are a family of animal lovers and losing the dogs is heartbreaking. You can replace a house but not the dogs.

A neighbour commented: "The firefighters tried so hard to resuscitate the dogs, they worked for about twenty minutes. It was so distressing to watch."

The crew also tried to revive a tank of tropical fish, by releasing oxygen into the water but they also died.

Gail added: "I would like to say a big thank you to my neighbours, particularly Tracy and Rob, who offered us all the help we needed.

"The firemen were also brilliant as were the British Red Cross, who were able to offer us a mobile home for us to use while we sorted ourselves out on Sunday afternoon. It was something I did not even know existed, until we needed to use it."