A FAMILY has been left with an ‘uninhabitable’ home after a tumble dryer caught fire and nearly burnt the place to the ground.

On Christmas Day, one fire crew from Braintree and two from Chelmsford were called to the incident in Hidcote Way, Great Notley at around 9.30pm.

When they arrived, they reported that the fire was on the ground floor and the whole house was full of smoke.

The cause of the fire was found to be a tumble dryer which had been turned on before the family went upstairs to bed.

Eventually, the fire was extinguished by 10:30pm.

Watch Manager Ean Summerfield said: "When the first firefighters from Braintree arrived at the house the fire was bursting out of the downstairs windows and the whole house was full of smoke.

“Firefighters wore breathing apparatus and got inside the property really quickly to tackle the fire.

“They managed to stop the fire spreading to the rest of the property and contained it to the kitchen and utility room.

"The family were alerted to the fire by a loud bang and when they got downstairs, they saw smoke pouring out of the tumble dryer so immediately went outside to safety and called 999 which is exactly the right thing to do.

"Our crews worked really hard to extinguish the fire as quickly as possible.

“The fire was contained to the utility and kitchen which have been badly damaged, but the rest of the house has suffered smoke damage which means the house is now uninhabitable.

"Incidents like this show how important it is to take extra care when using tumble dryers and we would advise that they should never be turned on while you are asleep or if you are out."