If proof were needed about the value of smoke detectors, it comes in today's story about the fire at Cowley.

Michelle Brown and her three children are lucky to be alive after being trapped upstairs in their burning home.

The fact that they were saved owes much to their quick-thinking neighbour Graham Ridewood, who dashed round and got the family out.

But their lives might not have been threatened had their smoke detectors been working.

Miss Brown had taken the batteries out because the alarm kept ringing.

She has now accepted it was a mistake.

We hope her admission will act as a warning to others to fit detectors and make sure they are working at all times.

They may not guarantee safety, but they give everyone a better chance of escape.