A FAMILY are devastated after a fire left them temporarily homeless.

Suzanne Martin had just returned from hospital, after her grandson was taken in, and was having dinner when she heard something spitting and sparking.

Then flames and smoke began filling the house.

The fire, which started near the kitchen, is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.

Ms Martin and her 23-yearold son, Dean, fled to the garden, grabbing their dogs on the way, before firefighters spent two hours putting out the fire in Laxton Court, Colchester. Ms Martin said: “I am devastated. Everything I have ever had has been destroyed. At least we managed to get out.”

The fire broke out at about 6.30pm on Wednesday.

Three fire crews tackled the blaze, while electrical and gas engineers turned off the supply to the street. The fire was under control by about 8.30pm.

Ms Martin said: “The fire brigade, the electricians, everyone was fantastic and I cannot thank them enough.

“The Red Cross gave us a few bits overnight and we are staying with my parents.”

During the afternoon, her one-year-old grandson, Tyler, had an asthma attack and was taken to hospital.

At the time of the fire, some of the familywere fortunately, as it turned out, at the hospital.

Ms Martin said: “I heard a spitting and sparking noise, opened the cupboard and yelled ‘get out, fire’. I just can’t face going back there now.”

A fire service spokesman confirmed the blaze was being classed as an accident and was believed to have been caused by faulty wiring.

Ms Martin is the former partner of Grant Byrom, who was stabbed to death in Forest Road, Greenstead, on Boxing Day in 1998. His murder is still unsolved Ms Martin is mother to his children, Dean and Tanya. Little Tyler is Tanya’s son.

Last September, on Tyler’s first birthday, a £2,000 reward was offered by Crimestoppers to anyone with information which could help solve the killing. Police have named the prime suspect as Michael Donnelly, 68, who is believed to have fled to Spain after the murder.