A mum has spoken of her horror after being told that in a matter of seconds her partner and their four children could have perished in a fire that swept through their home.

Kerry Green fought back tears as she watched their home of 14 years go up in smoke and with it treasured mementoes and happy memories.

As the family huddled together outside barefoot, in the their night clothes and in neighbours’ coats and blankets, they were told by a firefighter that they would have not survived if they had all been asleep at the time.

Kerry, 34, said: “We have lost everything, everything we have worked for and spent our hard earned cash on over the years. When we moved in we had nothing and we have gradually built things up. It’s our home, our memories and where our children have grown up,”

Kerry and her partner Terry Adams, 39, who both work in warehouses, were in their second floor living room of their home in Prospect Row, Brompton, when lights started to flicker.

“We have lost everything, everything we have worked for and spent our hard earned cash on over the years. When we moved in we had nothing and we have gradually built things up. It’s our home, our memories and where our children have grown up” - Kerry

The couple then heard a series of loud bangs coming from downstairs which Kerry described as “like a fireworks display”.

Terry went to check the fuse box in the first floor utility room,to find it enveloped in smoke,

He noticed a small flame coming from the unit and blew it out before alerting his neighbour, a qualified electrician. who immediately told the family to get out.

Kerry yelled upstairs to their sons Liam, 17, Brandon, 15, Hayden 13 and Isabella, 11, who were all in bed on the top floors of the three-storey property.

About 15 firefighters spent almost six hours battling the blaze which led to a gas mains rupturing.

It broke out at 10.42pm and is believed to have been sparked by an electrical fault.

The family cat, Millie, which Kerry has had since she was kitten, and Isabella’s pet canary Sunny died.

Kerry said: “I remember saying get the animals out. When I was told that my cat had been found dead I asked a firefighter to carry her out and take her to the vet for cremation so I can have the ashes.”

Other things believed to have been destroyed include GCSE certificates, course and homework, a bike Liam had made for his BTEC course and an expensive camera that Terry bought Kerry for Christmas.

Kerry said: “Like everything the camera is something I have wanted for ages and Terry had saved up for it.”

"The neighbours were marvellous. They all came out with warm clothing and cups of tea” - Kerry

The family are in temporary accommodation at a hotel in Maidstone while their landlords, Orbit Group, find them a new home.

She said: “The children are traumatised and I am still in shock. I can still smell the smoke.

“Our neighbour looked at the fuse box and said get out, it is going to go up. It still sends a chill when the firefighter said to me if we had been asleep we would not have survived. The smoke would have reached up to the top floor within seconds.

She added: “Orbit has been marvellous they have come round with bags of clothes for all of us, which did put a smile on the children’s faces. And the neighbours were marvellous. They all came out with warm clothing and cups of tea.

“It’s going to be upsetting, but I have got to go back there to see what I can salvage.

“We have got to be strong as a family and do it again.

“We know that we are very lucky and it could have been a different story.”

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