It was an emotional meeting for a group of firefighters who helped save the life of a three-year-old girl.

Poppy Rackind, of Southgate, was found “blue, very cold and unresponsive” in the bath at her home, close to death.

Her father, Laurie, found her in the bath, partially reviving her himself but it was not going to be enough and rushed to Southgate Fire, on High Street, Southgate.

Taking around two breaths a minute when the fire crew started treating her, her life hanged in the balance.

While waiting for the ambulance they gave her oxygen, she eventually started to come to. She was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital where she was later diagnosed with epilepsy.

Poppy's mother Julia said: “I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if they weren’t there.

“They were fantastic in a crisis - they were professional, knowledgeable and took over. They saved our daughter.”

Since the incident on August 8, at around 7.15pm, Poppy and her parents were invited back to the fire station to meet the crew that helped save her life.

Mrs Rackind added: “It was very emotional to go down to the fire station again, I just wanted to hug them all.

“We are amazingly lucky to be living so near to the fire station and to come across people who kept their cool in a crisis, when Laurie and I were not able to ourselves.”

In his 25 years at the service, firefighter Simon Sturt revealed it was one of the most rewarding things he has done, helping to revive the three-year-old, and believed it was an emotional visit for all involved.

He said: “I have been a firefighter for 25 years and you can go through your whole career without having an incident like this. This was one of those jobs where you get a sense of professional self-worth. It was lovely to see Poppy and the family again – she is full of life.”

Watch manager Karl Smith, who was in charge of the incident, praised firefighters' actions and paid homage to the brigade’s control staff for raising the alarm.

He said: “The crew included firefighters on standby from other stations, they had never worked together before but they were fantastic and it’s nice to know the team made a difference.

“I have a young daughter of my own and to go from not knowing what was going to happen to Poppy when she left in the ambulance that day, to then see her turn up to say thank you at the station door was remarkable.”