A MOTHER-OF-TWO has described the terrifying moment her family escaped from their burning home and has thanked all those who rallied round to help afterwards.

Allison Martin and her daughters India, 12, and Esther, nine, were in the kitchen of their home when a fire started in an upstairs bedroom.

India alerted the family when she went upstairs and saw flames engulfing the bottom of a curtain above a radiator and electrical sockets.

When Ms Martin ran upstairs to see, the flames had already reached the ceiling and she knew there was no way of extinguishing them.

The electrics in the house cut out so she guided her daughters to safety using a light from her mobile phone.

Once outside, she realised one of their three Shih Tzus dogs was still inside so quickly ran back in to rescue her.

The blaze in the home near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, quickly spread and three fire crews were needed to put it out.

Since the January 6 fire, Ms Martin has been inundated with donations and support from friends and members of the public who are trying to help the family replace everything they lost.

Describing the night of the blaze, Ms Martin told The Northern Echo: “It was absolutely terrifying, I knew instantly there was nothing I could do.

“With all the heat and the noise I said straightaway ‘we have to get out’.

“The electrics burnt out so it was pitch black and I was ushering the children out through the back door using a mobile phone.”

Their home, next to the village hall in Upsall, was gutted upstairs while the downstairs suffered severe smoke and water damage.

The Martins, who were barefoot as they fled the house, lost everything but Allison said she has been “overwhelmed” by the generosity shown following their plight.

An online fund set up by a friend has attracted donations of more than £2,000 and the family received goods for the girls - who lost all their Christmas presents in the fire.

"It is really strange, it has been heart-breaking losing all our stuff but I have been saying to the kids ‘it is only stuff’," she said.

“We didn’t even get a burn and that is what I am trying to focus on; the positive that we got out of there alive.

“The kindness of people has been overwhelming, you just don’t expect it and some of the things that have been given to the children have been absolutely beautiful.”

Ms Martin said the intensity of the heat has destroyed any evidence of what initially caused the fire.

The family, who were renting the property, have been staying with friends in Thirsk while they receive help from the council to find another home.