A FAMILY had a lucky escape when the mother woke in the early hours to the crackling sound of fire that engulfed her roof.

When Karen Wardle was disturbed by a noise at 3am yesterday, she thought it must be her eight-year-old daughter Meg, who had a friend staying at their Meadow Close home in Kington, near Evesham.

Her husband Ian went to investigate and was shocked to discover the loft was on fire.

Mrs Wardle, aged 39, said: "When we heard the noise we presumed it was the girls waking up and messing about as young kids do when they are having a sleep-over.

"They were sound asleep but I heard a noise that sounded like rain on the roof."

When her 43-year-old husband Ian got up to investigate, he realised the noise was the crackling of fire.

"We grabbed the dog Tigg and ran outside in our dressing gowns," she added.

"If we had been asleep like we should have been instead of awake and not being able to get to sleep, I dread to think what would have happened."

Mrs Wardle said she was not been a superstitious person - before someone mentioned it was Friday 13th.

"There's always time to start when something like this happens," she added.

Neighbour Jim Stanley said the family was lucky to escape the fire, which is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.

"The flames were a couple of metres high coming out of the roof," he said.

The couple fear the extensive work they have done to their new kitchen might have been destroyed by water.

Crew manager of Redditch Green Watch, Nathan Preece, said the smoke alarms were fully working but did not signal because the smoke was above it.

He said the three fire crews from Worcester who were called to the blaze did well to prevent the flames spreading to the adjoining property.

A spokesman for Hereford and Worcester Fire & Rescue Service, Alec Mackie, said the flames were so high crews travelling to the scene could see them from about six miles away.

He said the roof had been destroyed and a structural engineer and fire investigating team were investigating.