A FAMILY have been made homeless after a car fire spread and completely wrecked their flat.

Firefighters were called to Padda Court in Irvon Hill Road, Wickford, shortly before 10.30pm on Friday.

They had been told a vehicle was on fire.

But when they arrived, they found the blaze had spread to three cars and a nearby three-storey block of flats.

One of the ground floor flats was alight and filled with smoke.

Crews had extinguished the fire before midnight but all three cars were destroyed, as well as the flat.

A fire investigation will take place today to establish the cause.

Echo:

Watch manager Howard Midwood said: "The fire started in a vehicle in the car park next to the flats and spread to two more vehicles and a ground floor flat.

"Thankfully the family in the flat saw the cars alight and got out safely.

"If it hadn't been for the quick actions of the crews it could have escalated - they did a fantastic job.

"I would ask that members of the public maintain their distance with our crews when they are at the scene of an incident; social distancing is an important part of their job too.

"Our control team received a lot of calls about this incident and it is important callers give us as much accurate information as they can so we can send the appropriate resources."

One neighbour helped the family after they were forced to flee until their relatives arrived.

He said: "Me and my partner took the mother and child with daughter in to Spencer's Court next door until a family member came down from London.

"They just had night clothes on and were very lucky to escape.

"The Red Cross welfare unit normally attends but was unavailable so we made sure the family were safe and warm."