A family had a lucky escape when a blaze swept through the kitchen of their home.

Paul Chilver and Liz Read, of Sunbeam Avenue, Jaywick, were out at the time of the fire but returned to find firefighters trying to save their possessions and rescue their pet dog, Rusty.

Firefighters spent 45 minutes tackling the blaze, which took place just after 8pm on Monday.

A neighbour said: "My husband heard the fire engines and woke me up because he thought it might be our home that was on fire. There was a lot of smoke which I could see coming out of the building."

Another neighbour said she saw firefighters wearing breathing apparatus trying to smash the front door down to get inside the detached bungalow.

Neighbours believe the couple, who have a two-year-old daughter, Ellie, had been out visiting family at the time.

A spokesman for Clacton Fire Brigade said the bungalow had been filled with smoke but said most of the damage was in the kitchen area where it was believed the cooker caught fire.

Published Wednesday December 19, 2001