TWO young children were fighting for their lives today amid fears that they may have swallowed a drugs overdose.

A one-year-old boy and three-year-old girl were taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary in the early hours of today.

The children, believed to be brother and sister, were today being transferred to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital at Pendlebury and were described as being in a very serious condition.

An ambulance was called to the house in Notre Dame Gardens, Lark Hill, Blackburn, shortly before 3am after the younger child became seriously ill. Around an hour later a second ambulance was called to the property. Police were also called to the house at around 4am.

Neighbours said a boy called Darnish Mujahid and his sister Natalia live at the house with their father Asad and their mother, who is said to be heavily pregnant.

Ambulance staff said both children had turned blue and were not breathing when paramedics arrived at the scene. The boy was treated by Blackburn paramedic Peter Mitchell while the girl was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by ambulance colleague Geoff Brogden.

John Marsden, district ambulance manager, said: "We got the first call at 2.47am. The boy was not breathing and had turned blue. He was in a really bad way and there was virtually no response.

"The second call was at 3.29am and the girl was in the lounge. She was in a slightly worse condition because she had no pulse and she was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation at the scene."

Next door neighbour Nurbana Jaffer and husband Ibrahim said they heard shouting coming from the house at about 1am today. Mrs Jaffer, who has two children Rukhsar, five and Rakeel, two, said: "We both heard a lot of noise coming from the house late last night and in the early hours of today.

"They are a nice family and we are friendly with them. This is terrible."

Mr Jaffer said: "I woke up and heard a lot of noise. I just hope the children are OK."

Both children were today undergoing blood tests in a bid to establish what made them ill.

The parents of the two children are believed to be at the hospital with their children and a police officer was outside the house early today as forensic officers were searching the semi-detached property.

Detectives from Blackburn are investigating the incident and officers from the police family protection unit were expected to be called in later today.

Acting Detective Inspector Pete Broome said: "Both these children are very seriously ill and tests have been carried out to establish whether they have consumed drugs or anything else which is responsible for them being ill.

"A thorough search of the property in Notre Dame Gardens is being carried out but at the moment no one is being held in custody."

Picture: A policeman stands guard over the house in Notre Dame Gardens, Blackburn, where the children are feared to have swallowed an overdose.