A single mother has been left distraught after her family ‘lost everything’ in a fire at their south Essex home this morning.

Kelly Bundred, 42, told the Echo how she rushed her three children out of her house on Paxfords in Laindon after discovering fire and smoke coming from her wardrobe on Friday (September 6) morning.

Ms Bundred said her ceiling had been left ‘structurally unstable,’ while the bottom floor had been left heavily water damaged.

(Image: Michael Robinson) (Image: Michael Robinson)

She said six minutes after noticing the fire and getting her kids to safety, her property, which she has lived in for ten years, had been engulfed in flames.

(Image: Michael Robinson)

She said: “My kids have lost everything. I have three children, they have literally lost it all.

“It started in my bedroom, I noticed flames in there with my clothes.

(Image: Michael Robinson) (Image: Michael Robinson)

“I was going to get out, so I got the kids and got out. There were flames coming out of the windows.

“I am just glad it happened when everyone was awake, To be honest, I cannot even think straight at the moment.

(Image: Michael Robinson)

“The whole house is gone. I decorated the house myself and it’s just all gone up in flames.”

She said she had attempted extinguish the flames but was unsuccessful.

(Image: Michael Robinson)

An Essex Police spokesperson said: “We were called by Essex Fire and Rescue Service to reports of a fire in Paxfords at about 7.20am today, Friday 6 September.”

(Image: Michael Robinson)

Ms Bundred said she had temporary accommodation at a hotel for the night, while police continue to inspect her property to find the cause of the blaze

She said she was not sure what she was going to do and had to abandon her possessions to escape.

The Echo have Essex Fire and Rescue Service for more information on the incident.