LITTLE Elle Burn sprang to the rescue when her mum got jammed between her car and her garage wall.

Three-year-old Elle rang 999 to summon assistance, then ran to the garden gate and yelled: "Come and help my mum!"

Today Elle was being hailed as the heroine of the hour after the drama that unfolded in Hempland Lane, York.

Her rescue efforts began after mum Theresa tried to roll her Peugeot 205 back into her garage by taking the brake off and using her foot to push it.

The move went wrong when the car got stuck and Theresa found herself trapped with a leg crushed between her car door and wall of her garage.

"I honestly couldn't risk moving," said 33-year-old Theresa, an account manager with Lloyds Bank.

"If I did, my ankle just felt like it could have snapped."

It was then that Elle stepped and dialled 999.

Theresa believed the 999 call had failed, because Elle said the phone went dead.

So the youngster dashed down to the front gate and pleaded with passers-by.

"I said 'come and help my mum'," said Elle.

And help they did. One woman, whom Theresa believes was called Sam, went into the house to check on little Molly, Elle's five-month-old sister, who had happily dozed off in the living room. Others, including a nurse who happened to be passing, looked after Theresa and Elle. Then, the police turned up. They hadn't heard Elle's voice, but they had received a broken 999 call.

The officers called in North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, who finally freed Theresa. She was not seriously hurt, although she had suffered bruising and was severely shaken.

She was full of praise for her level-headed daughter.

"She is absolutely brilliant," said Theresa.

"She was the heroine."

The accident happened only a week after the family had moved into the house and, as Theresa said, "this was a good way to meet the neighbours!"

The family do not know the names of everyone who helped, but she wants to thank them through the Evening Press.

"I can't believe how good everyone was, from the people passing by to the fire brigade and the police - thank you so much," she added.

Elle, though, was keeping cool about it all - and she had a message for mum.

"She shouldn't do that again," she added.

"Get daddy instead."

Updated: 12:22 Friday, June 08, 2001