A TEN-year-old boy was on the verge of jumping from a second-storey window today to flee an arson attack at his home.

A TEN-year-old boy was on the verge of jumping from a second-storey window today in a desperate attempt to escape a raging fire after arsonists struck his Ipswich home.

He and his mother were trapped in a bedroom at around 1.30am while neighbours bravely tried to tackle the blaze, which filled the house with choking smoke.

At one point, the boy, called Nathan, urged neighbours to put a makeshift crash pad in the front garden so he could leap from the window.

But firefighters arrived at their Bramford Lane house and were able to haul the frightened pair to safety down a ladder.

Police are treating the incident as arson with intent to endanger life after mother and son were taken to Ipswich hospital to be treated for the effects of smoke inhalation.

Scenes of crime officers were due to trawl the house this morning for clues to the source of the fire, which is believed to have started when the front door was set alight.

Neighbours today told how they were woken by the mother, known as Janet, banging on their wall and calling for help.

A next-door neighbour said: “I heard them shouting my name. I went outside and told them to stay by the window because the house was getting full of smoke.

“I chucked a bowl of water over the front door, but it just went up in flames again.

“Young Nathan asked if we had anything we could put on the front garden to jump on because they were that worried.

“Firemen arrived and smashed the front door down to tackle the blaze and brought the boy down a ladder. Janet was frightened to come down.”

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident to contact them at Ipswich CID on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Were you the victims of the fire? Or do you know the pair? Call The Evening Star news desk on 01473 324788 or e-mail starnews@eveningstar.co.uk.