THE family of a man killed in an arson attack have spoken for the first time about their terror as the house filled with smoke.

Roseann Perkins, formerly of the Glade, Malvern, managed to escape the fire with her 17-year-old daughter Katie and two sons, Ben, aged 18, and Shaun, 22.

Her husband Richard Perkins, 37, died in the house.

Mrs Perkins, who is now staying with family in Upton-upon-Severn, recounted the horrendous events that took place in the early hours of Monday, October 13.

She said: “I remember Katie screaming, saying the house was on fire. I thought she was in the other room but I realised that she was standing next to my bed. Basically, it was just a panic from there.

“I shook my husband but he wouldn’t wake up and my thoughts automatically turned to the kids.

“I told Katie to crawl on the floor because of the smoke. I remember Ben jumping out of the window. Katie was crying ‘mum, mum, I love you’.”

Neighbours, alerted by the noise, rushed over to the house and placed ladders to the windows, helping the family escape.

Mrs Perkins, who suffered severe smoke inhalation, remembers standing outside the house as the flames quickly devoured the upstairs rooms.

“I knew my husband had already passed away,” she said.

Former Chase student Katie also suffered severe smoke inhalation as well as burns on her hands from holding onto a plastic window frame as it was melted by the heat.

Both Katie and her mother were kept alive on ventilators at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, while Ben was also treated for smoke inhalation and Shaun escaped with minor injuries.

Mrs Perkins described the days spent in a critical condition without news of her daughter’s condition.

She said: “I did not even know how Katie was doing. I didn’t see her for 10 or 11 days. No one would tell me about Richard but I knew he had passed away.”

Only in the last two weeks have they broken the news to Katie that Richard died in the fire.

Mrs Perkins said: “He was always doing stuff with them. Katie was his favourite and he spoilt her. It was the perfect father-daughter relationship.”

Katie’s persistent cough and croaky voice attest to the damage the smoke did to her Her family also say she has become more withdrawn since leaving hospital.