A pet dog has been hailed a hero after saving a one-year-old girl from choking to death as she slept.

Chloe Showell, from Dartford in Kent, began choking on her own vomit after falling ill in her bedroom just before 11pm.

But Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Louie raised the alarm by barking and running around the flat to alert Chloe's mother.

Hero pooch: Chloe Showell, from Dartford in Kent, began choking on her own vomit but Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Louie raised the alarm

Inseparable: Chloe used to be 'terrified' of Louie, but now they are the best of friends

Shannon Weeks, 23, then rushed to see what was happening.

The mother-of-two found her daughter pale and face down. She picked her up and patted her back, and the toddler came round.

Meanwhile, loyal pooch Louie whimpered outside the bedroom.

'The doctors said if it hadn't been for Louie and I hadn't got there when I did Chloe may not have survived,' said Shannon.

'He really did save her. Louie is my hero. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have my beautiful daughter.

'She was terrified of him but now they're inseparable.'

The life-saving dog belongs to Shannon's grandmother, Maureen Tarrant, who had brought him round to their house that day.

When Shannon heard Louie barking, she thought he had just spotted someone walking past the flat.

'He just kept barking and barking,' she said.

'He hardly ever does that so I didn't know what to think. He was running in and out of the rooms and going back to Chloe.

'I said to my nan: "There is something wrong".

'I went out and saw him outside my daughter's room. It was the worst thing you can imagine. Every parent's nightmare.

Shannon with her daughter Chloe and Louie. Doctors told her that Louie had saved her little girl's life

Chloe was diagnosed with bronchitis and a viral tummy bug and has since made a full recovery

'I went in and Chloe was face down and was pale and wasn't breathing. She had vomited and choked on her own sick. All I remember doing is screaming.

'I picked her up and patted her back and she came round and threw up again.

'She was really pale and all her lips were light blue.

'She's not a very sickly baby so it came as a huge shock. It was the worst night of my life.'

Chloe's father Tom, 24, rushed her to nearby Darent Valley Hospital, where doctors said four-year-old Louie had saved her life.

The toddler was diagnosed with bronchitis and a viral tummy bug and has since made a full recovery.