A woman ran into a burning house to rescue her pet tortoise.

Yvonne Da Silva, 52, dashed into her rented two-storey end-of-terrace home in Peregrine Drive, Sittingbourne, when she heard an explosion.

Fire crews were called at about 10.20am and went in with breathing apparatus to control the blaze with water jets.

Mrs Da Silva, who has lived in the house with husband Donovan for 10 years, has spoken about how she went to rescue three-year-old tortoise Tortilla which is now being looked after by a friend.

The mum-of-three recalled: “I was across the road, so when I heard the first explosion I realised something was happening.

“I ran across back to the house. It was already burning upstairs, so we had to wait for the fire brigade.

"I did manage to get in to save the tortoise who was downstairs in the conservatory. It was only me, my daughters were at work.

“At that point I hit a blank and you start off just doing what you need to do.

"My instinct and my first priority was to get in and rescue the tortoise.”

Paying tribute to the emergency services who came to help, Mrs Da Silva added: “There were plenty of people who came to the house from the fire brigade to help.

“I’d like to say thank you to the whole fire department and the police.

“The support from them was amazing. The short time it took them to get here and how rapid their response to the situation was was brilliant.

“The fire caused a lot of structural damage especially on the top floor.

"We’re staying in a hotel at the moment.

“I’d say it’s been a shock. It’s one of those things we get through what we need to and tackle it one day at a time.”

The couple moved to the UK from South Africa with daughters Roxanne, 26, Tracey, 22, and Samantha, 23, in 2008.

The blaze, which happened last Tuesday, is believed to have started in the main bedroom and caused by a faulty plug.