A QUICK-THINKING member of the public saved a sleeping family after they left an unattended saucepan on a cooker.

The alarm was raised at 3.09 pm and firefighters eventually roused the occupants at a property in Roumelia Lane, Boscombe.

A Dorset Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said they had been none the worse for their ordeal, adding: "Thankfully they were woken in time and unaffected by the smoke - it could have been much worse."