Ten-year-old Ashleigh Huxley at the family's fire-damaged home on Bemerton Heath. Picture: HERBIE FATHERLY DA4671P1A DISABLED ten-year-old is being hailed a hero after she rescued her little brother from her family's blazing home in a terrifying New Year drama.

Ashleigh Huxley suffered horrific leg injuries when she was run over by a van in a skateboarding accident last May, and had only been able to walk for a month before the fire broke out on New Year's Eve.

The quick-thinking youngster discovered the flames in the utility room of her home in Woodside Road, Bemerton Heath, and snatched her four-year-old brother Eddie away from danger as the fire started to spread.

Ashleigh, who has endured 13 operations to rebuild her shattered leg, then carried Eddie to safety and kept him calm, while her mother, Jody, tried to control the flames until the fire brigade arrived.

The blaze started at 8pm, when it appears Eddie accidentally put a magazine on top of a lit candle. He tried to carry the burning paper to the toilet but dropped it on the floor.

Within minutes, three rooms were on fire and choking smoke filled the house.

"It was very hot and frightening but Eddie tried to run into the rooms where the fire was," said Ashleigh. "I just ran in, grabbed him and put him under my arm, so I could take him outside."

Ashleigh, who still needs a wheelchair because she can only walk short distances, carried her terrified brother up several steps to the main road and waited for help.

"I didn't notice my leg because I knew I had to get him out," she said. "It's lucky it's getting a bit better - I couldn't walk anywhere before."

Meanwhile, Mrs Huxley was trying to quell the flames.

"In the utility room, there are several gas canisters, and if the fire had got to them, the whole house might have gone up," she said. "I tried to pour water on the fire but the door was on fire and it just got too hot."

Firefighters arrived moments later and extinguished the flames.

The family was taken to Salisbury District Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.

Their house is badly smoke-damaged and many of their possessions were destroyed, but Mrs Huxley knows they had a lucky escape.

"It's a real mess but things can be replaced," she said. "I'm just glad we're still all here."

Ashleigh, who requires weekly check-ups as doctors at Salisbury hospital use revolutionary plastic surgery and muscle graft techniques to save her leg, is getting used to showing incredible courage.

"She was very calm and brave," said her father, Bob, who rushed home from his taxi firm when he heard about the fire.

"Afterwards, her leg was bleeding and really sore, because she's not supposed to move her knee too much and she ran up the steps to get her brother away," added Mrs Huxley.

"The doctors say it's amazing she can walk at all - she almost lost her leg so many times after the accident and there's a lot more they need to do."

It will take many months for the family to repair the damage to their home but they are looking forward to a less eventful 2004.

"Some things have been very bad," said Ashleigh who started back at St Osmund's School, Salisbury on Tuesday.

"But everyone says it's a new year now and we hope everything will be better soon."