Mother and children escape Telford house fire

A mother and her two children escape the fire in Randlay after they were woken up by a smoke alarm.

They were helped by neighbours in Brands Farm Way after fleeing the flames at around 9am today.

Margaret Greensillesaid: "I was taking my grand-daughter to school and when I got back I saw flames shooting from the house and the windows popping out.

"As far as I know everyone got out quickly and are safe at a local neighbours' who took them in but apparently the dog has gone missing. They are new residents, they only moved in about three weeks ago so this is really unfortunate."

Adam Watson, the family's next door neighbour, was among the first to be aware of the fire.

His father, Peter, said: "Adam lives here with his mother but she was out at work. He was woken up by someone banging on his door to tell him there was a fire.

"I've been round the house to have a look and there is no damage here but it looks quite bad next door."

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service investigator Neil Griffiths said: "Investigations are continuing but we can say that it was an accidental fire. There is nothing sinister.

"The main thing is that four people have been saved from harm today thanks to a smoke alarm."

Darren Smith, watch manager at Telford Central Fire Station, said: "The first floor was totally gutted when we arrived and flames were coming out from the back first floor windows."

"The only damage to the downstairs is water damage from putting the fire out."

Mr Smith said the drama illustrated the need for families to ensure they fit working smoke alarms to their homes.

He said: "The family were never in serious danger as the smoke alarm alerted them to the fire.

"They have only lived in the house for about four weeks and still have everything upstairs packed up in boxes, so the investigation officer is sifting through the layers to find out what actually caused the fire."

Steve Purslow, another fire investigation officer for Shropshire Fire and Rescue, added: "What we have here is a obviously a serious house fire. The family are absolutely distraught."

West Mercia Police spokesman Chris Ammonds said police were called to the scene to help with traffic management on the busy road.