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When a block of flats in Leith was hit by a large fire on Sunday morning, a pet dog helped dozens of people get to safety after alerting them to the blaze.

Eleven people were rescued and two were taken to hospital following the fire on Leith Walk around 1am.

Edinburgh Live heard from a woman who was among a large group of people at a housewarming party on the night.

She said the owner's dog Luca raised the alarm minutes before the smoke detectors went off, allowing many of the guests to exit the building safely.

The stairwell filled with smoke rapidly, meaning some still had to be rescued by firefighters using ladders and a cherry picker.

Among those rescued was the former Midlothian MP Danielle Rowley, who had been in the building at the time. She later praised the "heroic" emergency service workers who helped those affected.

One of the party guests said: "We were at a housewarming party and so there were about 20-30 of us in the flat. The dog alerted some guests that something wasn't right and then they discovered that there was a fire in the stairwell below the flat.

"This was minutes before the actual smoke alarm went off, so fortunately enough people were able to get out before the stairwell filled with smoke.

"I was one of the ones that had to get rescued by ladders, but I dread to think what would have happened if more of us were in the flat with all the smoke."

The former Labour MP said the fire was "terrifying but we’re all okay."

She tweeted: "The biggest ever thank you to the amazing fire, ambulance and police officers who helped us - especially the fireman who managed to pull me out a window and get me down a ladder to safety.

"The word hero here isn’t an exaggeration."