A 10-year-old boy is being hailed a hero for putting out the flames when his mother accidentally set herself on fire.

Mehz Buxy, 39, had been cooking rice when she turned her back on the cooker and put something in the dishwasher.

As she leant down in the narrow kitchen of the family home, in Curzon Road in Maidstone, the flame from the gas hob ignited her dress.

She was taken to Maidstone Hospital with burns to her back and underneath her arms, and will find out this week if she needs to have a skin graft.

But proud father Saf said things could have been far worse if it was not for his quick-thinking children, Zayd, 10, and Aaliyah, 15.

The 41-year-old said: “I was on the train to London when I got a phone call from my children saying that their mum was on fire.

“She was screaming and took off her dress but her hair was still alight and she wasn’t aware of it.

“My son got a towel and dabbed her on the head a few times until it was out, and they looked after her until the ambulance got there.

“It is extremely painful for her, but it would have been a lot worse if they had not acted. Between them they could have saved her life" - Saf Buxy

“It is extremely painful for her, but it would have been a lot worse if they had not acted. Between them they could have saved her life.”

Saf said he had no idea how Zayd, a student at Roseacre Junior School, and Invicta Grammar School pupil Aaliyah knew what to do, as they had no first aid training.

He added: “I’m very proud of both of them.”

The flames were out when firefighters arrived, but they applied burns dressings to Mehz’s back before paramedics took over.

Maidstone crew manager Aaron Hughes said: “The best way to reduce injury if your clothes do catch fire is to follow the stop, drop and roll advice.”

Kent Fire and Rescue Service advises people to lie down, roll around, and smother the flames with heavy material such as a coat or fire blanket.