A mother has condemned a group of teenagers who put a lit rocket through her door which could have led to a fatal fire.

Jackie Bilton, of Elm Grove, Great Clacton, was still awake when the group of boys struck at 1am Saturday.

She said: "I was sorting things out downstairs. I heard the letterbox going and I thought it was the wind."

Miss Bilton, 32, said she then heard a hissing sound and realised a firework had been put through her door. She said: "My son Matthew was coming downstairs at the time to go to the toilet.

"He darted back into his bedroom."

Miss Bilton, who has three children, slammed the door to the room she was in until the firework burned out.

As well as her children, partner Tony Smith was also at the home.

After the attack Miss Bilton threw open the front door and put a smouldering mat outside in the street.

She also saw a group of about four teenagers aged about 17-19 running away from her house.

"You could hear them all laughing," she said. "I stood there and thought why? They have put our lives in danger."

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