A mum and her two young children were left homeless when fire gutted their flat.

Alisha Taylor, 23, has had to farm her four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son to relatives while workmen repair the premises in Fairfield Square, Gravesend.

The family had to run for their lives when fire broke out in the children's bedroom. It is believed the daughter had tried to light a candle.

Alisha said: "It was four in the morning. I think she had been trying to light a toy birthday cake. She is sometimes afraid of the dark. It looks like she had used a chair to reach a flame-lighter in the kitchen to light one of the candles and then dropped it onto soft toys which caught alight in her bedroom."

The mum was woken by a smoke alarm.

She said: "We are so lucky. I woke up and could see smoke hanging from the ceiling in my daughter's bedroom. I grabbed her from the bed and almost threw her and my son out of the door for their safety.

"I went back to try to put the fire out with water using their potties from the bathroom but the children's TV and X-Box looked in danger of exploding so I closed the door and ran outside to wait for the fire brigade."

She added: "They were wonderful and were there in about six minutes. But the flat has suffered from smoke and water damage. All our carpets are ruined."

The fire broke out on Tuesday but Alisha says she is still waiting for workers from London and Quadrant Housing to repair the damage. She said: "They told me to move everything out of the bedrooms and into the living room but also insist it is perfectly safe for me and the kids to live there.

"There is black soot everywhere and it still reeks of acrid smoke. We only had the electricity reconnected on Friday so we were without any hot water or heating until then.

"I have spent days trying to clean it but I couldn't expect the children to stay there. They are being looked after by relatives. I miss them so much."

All the family had birthdays this month. The children lost their presents in the fire.

Alisha added: "L&Q's treatment to us has been poor. We should not be expected to live in a fire-damaged flat until the repair work is finished. The response has been very casual. I still don't have a date when work will start."

London and Quadrant has been asked for a comment.

Read more: All the latest news from Gravesend