A TERRIFIED woman rescued from her burning flat thought she might die as she leant out of her bedroom window screaming for help.
Quick-thinking passersby saw smoke billowing from Lucy Fyfield's first floor window and frantically stacked wheelie bins for her to step on to.
Feeling ill, she had gone to sleep, but woke up just after 11am struggling to breathe in a pitch black room filled with smoke.
Once the 29-year-old managed to push on the scorching window frame, she called out to Colchester waste collector Chris Payne who telephoned 999.
Paige Marangou, Jenna Wood and another man, believed to be a downstairs neighbour, worked together to get her down.
She found them through Facebook after an appeal she wrote was shared more 70 times.
The bedroom window Lucy escaped from
Lucy said: "Without them I wouldn't be here. I was so lucky Chris was outside when he was.
"He grabbed my foot once I was on the bins to reassure me because I was so scared. He doesn't understand how much of a hero he is.
"Both men panicked and it was one of the women who told them what to do with the bins.
"I remember being sat on the ground surrounded by fire crews and ambulance. They moved so quickly.
"I couldn't breathe and was completely covered in soot.
"When I realised the flat was on fire, I contemplated throwing myself out but the fear wouldn't let me let go.
"I wouldn't have cared if I'd have broken bones - at least I'd still be alive. But at that point, I thought I was going to die."
Lucy's first floor flat at Axial Drive, Colchester
An investigation is being carried out to determine the cause of the fire at Axial Drive, which started in the office room of Lucy's flat, which she shares with partner Long Dang.
Two firefighters extinguished the fire within ten minutes while six other residents in that block were evacuated.
Lucy was given oxygen therapy at the scene and again at Colchester General Hospital, where there were concerns over her elevated heart rate.
Doctors said she was lucky to have woken up when she did.
Several of the rooms are covered in black dust
"I was just in tears. I'd had seven showers over the next day and still felt dirty, and couldn't sleep.
"Once we left hospital, I needed to see the flat so we called the estate agent and got him to meet us there, but I was devastated.
"I still get sweats and shakes - I don't like being back there for long."
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