TWO cousins had a miraculous escape after plunging 20 feet through a school roof.

David Mclaughlin, aged eight, and 12-year-old Brendan Moore were attempting to jump over a glass fibre skylight on the roof at Radcliffe High School when they misjudged the distance and fell through into a storeroom.

David's brother Nathan, aged six, who was also playing on the roof, ran off to raise the alarm while David, of Pinfold Close, Westhoughton, took off his jumper and placed it under Brendan's head as he lay injured beside him.

David kept his cousin conscious throughout the ordeal by talking to him as he lay screaming with a suspected broken back.

Fire chiefs broke down the storeroom door at the Abden Street school to free the pair after 30 minutes. A caretaker had let them into the school but did not have the key to the kitchen storeroom.

Both youngsters were rushed to Bury General Hospital on spinal boards for X-rays -- but were released yesterday with only minor injuries.

Brendan's mother Kath Moore, aged 35 of Marston Close, Whitefield, said: "It was like time stood still when I heard the news. My heart started going faster and I felt sick. I thought he had broken his back. He could have died and even the doctors called him Superman."

Mrs Moore said Brendan, who attends Coney Green High School, Radcliffe, said the fright had taught her son his lesson over climbing.

She added: "What David did was unbelievable and they could have been in there for days if Nathan had not heard them shouting and raised the alarm."

And David and Nathan's mum Gayle Mclaughlin, aged 31, said of the pair, who attend St George's Primary, Westhoughton: "David was not bothered about himself, just about Brendan. I would describe both my sons as heroes but David is very lucky to be alive.

"It has frightened him so much that he said he will never go climbing again. My prayers were answered when I saw they were all right in hospital. They could have been killed."

Sub Officer Steve Simpson, of Whitefield Fire Station added: "For an eight-year-old to react how he did shows a great deal of maturity but they should not have been on the school roof in the first place.

"He did the right thing by helping his friend as shock can be a killer."

Radcliffe High headteacher Graham Rawlinson said the matter was under investigation and the school would now be in contact with police.

A police spokesman said: "Under no circumstances should children climb onto or play on school roofs. Incidents like this highlight the dangers posed by playing on them."