A County Durham man has described the terrifying moment he had to shout "get out" to his parents as a fire started to rip through their family home.

Carl Liddle was inside the home on West Chilton Terrace in Chilton, near Newton Aycliffe, when the fire broke out at around 4.30pm on Tuesday, November 8.

The 33-year-old, who is registered disabled and has autism, was left horrified as his mother, Lorraine, raised the alarm after first seeing smoke.

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At the time, father Kevin, who works at Gestamp in Newton Aycliffe, had been in the shower as the blaze started to take hold.

The Northern Echo:

'Get out, get out'

Describing the terrifying moment he saw the flames for himself, Carl realised the fire was already out of hand.

He bellowed out to Lorraine, 58, and Kevin, 60, in a bid to get them out the home as fast as he could.

He told The Northern Echo: "My mam shouted from downstairs saying there was smoke.

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"Then I could see the fire and shouted 'get out, get out,' my mam gave me the phone to ring the fire brigade. It was the longest five minutes of my life."

In just a few minutes firefighters were on the scene, but by that time the fire had already spread across the ground floor of the home.

The Northern Echo:

'We've lost everything'

The PVC window frames and front door melted first as flames could be seen licking the walls in the passageway, leaving the family watching in despair from the doorstep.

Carl said: "I was just thinking that my house was going to burn down. It didn’t take very long, I'm pleased they (fire brigade) arrived within five minutes."

The family has since "lost everything" including a wedding dress, sentimental photos, furniture and all of their clothes.

The home is now unhabitable due to the fire damage on the ground floor and significant smoke damage on the first floor.

The Northern Echo:

Carl said: "The lobby needs to be redone and the rest of it will need doing, we just need a new everything. The entire house has been affected.

"We've lost my mam's wedding dress, family photos and we're all in shock, speechless. We never thought this would happen to us."

The repair bill will go into the thousands but tragically, the family did not take out an insurance policy to cover fire damage.

But the fire has not just come at a physical cost with Carl, who also suffers from anxiety and depression, saying that his ailments have now flared up.

The Northern Echo:

A GoFundMe has since been set up by brother, Gavin Liddle, who has said is trying to help his parents and Carl "get back on their feet."

It has seen more than £800 raised in just several hours.

Carl added: "We just need to get people in to redecorate it and clean it up, we'll new windows and doors because it's extensively damaged.

"Our neighbours have been fantastic, but we are trying to get the word out there."

The County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service confirmed all occupants of the home had left safety.

The Northern Echo:

A spokesperson said: “Crews from Newton Aycliffe, Spennymoor and Durham all attended the fire on West Chilton.

"On arrival crews found an electrical fire in the front room. All occupants were out of the dwelling.

"Crews extinguished the fire by 9pm using 4 breathing apparatus, hose reel and PPV smoke clearance.

"Firefighters revisited the site to assess the scene and left at 10.40pm. Ambulance and Northern Power Grid attended.”

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