VIDEO:Hero mum leads new fire campaign

Although the blaze at the council house at Sutton, near Petworth, in January 1999 made headline news at the time, Lucie Wentworth has never spoken publicy of the nightmare incident which could so easily have turned into a family tragedy.

But now she has decided to tell what happened in support of a new countywide campaign by West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, encouraging householders to make an escape plan in case of fire.

In her graphic account Mrs Wentworth, who was 34 at the time, says she went downstairs that fateful morning with her four-year-old daughter Saffron to turn on a gas heater.

As they returned upstairs, the heater exploded with an 'almighty bang' which shook the house and jammed the doors.

As a huge fireball shot up the staircase Saffron, now 13, ran into a bedroom.

Mrs Wentworth, her elder daughter Imogen, who was ten, and a third daughter, Bethia, then aged six, jumped from first floor windows.

Suddenly she realised Saffron was nowhere to be seen.

"I thought she must either be dead, or about to die, so I smashed the glass in the front door to get back in the house. The keys inside were hot, but I grabbed them and opened the door," she said.

Anxious neighbours had gathered outside and were calling to Saffron to break the bedroom window and jump.

"I couldn't because Mum had locked the windows. I tried to smash the glass, but it wouldn't break," Saffron recalled. "The room was full of smoke."

The force of the blast had blown a wall down. Flames were flickering at the ground floor and first floor windows. Scrambling over the rubble,

Mrs Wentworth struggled to breathe as she climbed the stairs again.

She heard a whimpering sound from Saffron, snatched her up and ran past the burned-down door into her own bedroom.

This window was unlocked, and Saffron was dropped to the safety of neighbours waiting below.

"We were incredibly lucky to escape with only burns, a broken arm and suffering from smoke inhalation," the heroine mum recalled.

"Looking back I realise it wasn't a good idea to leave the bedroom windows locked. I was trying to stop the children tampering with them, but I should have talked with them about fire safety instead."

Lucie Wentworth's heroism won her praise from firefighters at the time.

One told the Observer: "She is one hell of a woman for what she did."

The tribute is echoed by Andy Horner from West Sussex Fire and Rescue who, as part of the fire escape plan campaign, is advising all householders to keep window keys either near windows '“ in a high place if there are small children '“ and ask West Sussex Fire and Rescue for a free home fire safety check.

Any home can be visited on request '“ book a visit by calling 0800 328 6487.