A FATHER has told how his family lost all their possessions when a pile of rubbish he was burning in the back garden turned into a raging blaze.

On the evening of Tuesday, May 24, Eric Butler and his wife Vicki were settling down to a normal evening after putting their children to bed at their Artisan Crescent home.

Earlier on, Mr Butler said, he had been burning some waste, which had gone out and turned to smouldering ash.

Speaking about the moments the blaze reignited in the early hours of May 25, the 63-year-old said: “The fire had gone out and I had a bucket of water ready to throw over the hot ash before I went to bed.

“Just as I was going out I was disturbed by my youngest child who was crying, so I went to see to him before I threw the water over.

“Moments later I saw flames through the back window - I couldn't believe it.”

Mr Butler said the fire spread to the plastic garden table, then caught onto the window frames.

Panic quickly set in as he was faced with raising the alarm to his wife and children.

He added: “It was so quick, I did try throwing more water over it before the kids escaped from upstairs. We all got out but soon after the whole place was gone, it had even reached the roof.

“The worst thing of all is we've lost everything. From our wedding album, to everything the kids had like toys and their school stuff.”

Mr Butler, his wife Vicki, 31, and their four children Caitlin, 12, Adam, eight, Jack, five and Mark, one, have been re-homed by the housing association Hightown Praetorian and Churches Association.

He said: “But people have been so good, really generous. At St Michael's School, where our children attend, they have donated toys and school stuff to them.”