Mum's dramatic rescue of children

AN IPSWICH mother today described the terrifying moment she had to rescue her four children from their burning house.

Karen Bottle also praised the benefits of smoke alarms which alerted her to the danger.

Mrs Bottley told how it was just an ordinary Sunday evening before the smoke alarms went off and she found one of the bedrooms was on fire.

The 35-year-old was in the house in Forfar Close with her children, Ashley aged six, Natalie aged three, two-year-old Liam and her seven week old baby Christian when the fire broke out at around 5pm last Sunday.

She said: "The children were helping to get the washing in and I was hoovering and tidying up.

"Then the smoke alarms went off – they keep going off all the time but I always go and check anyway."

When she got upstairs the front bedroom was full of thick black smoke.

She said: "I just grabbed the phone and dialled 999.

"I got the baby and the rest of the children were all over the house – I just wanted to get them out."

Christian and Liam were taken to Ipswich Hospital overnight where they were treated for smoke inhalation but Mrs Bottley said that the rest of the family were fine.

She said: "I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has been helping us.

"It is so important to have smoke alarms – I have had about three different ones because they keep going off but you just have to keep on with it."

When the fire broke out her husband Ken was on a fishing trip in Melton.

He said: "The first thing I knew was when they phoned me on my mobile and I could hear Karen screaming so I got back here as quickly as I could."

The fire has left the first floor of the home where they lived for five years completely gutted.

It is owned by Sanctuary Housing and at the moment the family is in temporary accommodation until they can find somewhere else to live.