A MUM-OF-THREE has recalled the terrifying experience of ushering her kids to safety as their Dunfermline family home went up in flames.

A fire engulfed the top floor of the Islay Road property in the early hours of the morning, claiming everything in its path.

Ayshea Harvey was in the kitchen on the phone to her sister at around 2am when the smoke alarm went off.

“I checked the kitchen and living room before running upstairs to see smoke coming from the towel cupboard,” she told the Press.

“I grabbed a pot of cold water to try and put it out but it spread quicker.

“I was panicking and I was so scared.”

Her son Ryan, five, said he had taken a tealight from the fire place, lit it, and placed it in the cupboard as he was looking for something.

Ayshea’s youngest daughter, Ellie, one, was sleeping on the sofa beside her older sister, Taylor, seven, when she ran back downstairs.

She continued: “I shouted to Ryan and Taylor to get out of the house quickly. I made it through to the kitchen and turned the electric off at the box before grabbing Ellie and running outside with her. I didn’t have time to grab anything else.

“The kids were screaming and Ryan kept saying, ‘Sorry mummy, it was an accident’.”

The blaze scorched the four rooms upstairs, claiming beds, drawers, televisions and the children’s Christmas presents.

The home’s water pipes burst and electric cabling was exposed as a result of the fire, on Sunday, January 21.

They have since been staying with their grandfather at Inchkeith Drive.

Ayshea, who had lived at Islay Road with her children for a year, claimed Fife Council had only given her 45 minutes the day after the blaze to allow her to grab personal items.

She also asked why the locks to the property had been changed since the fire, which required three crews of firefighters from Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Mhairi Mullen, Dunfermline area housing manager, refuted the claims and said: “The house is extensively fire-damaged. In situations like this, we replace the locks to make sure the property is safe and secure and ensure health and safety requirements are met whilst necessary repairs are undertaken.

“The tenant has already been back at the property twice to collect belongings including white goods, and has been advised that they can have access whenever they want, they just need to contact their housing officer.

“The tenant initially advised that they were able to stay with relatives, however, has now been moved into another of our properties while repair work to the fire-damaged property is assessed and completed. As part of our decant process, the tenant was offered assistance with removals, however, they declined this offer. Further arrangements have been made with the tenant to collect more of their possessions at a time suitable for them to do so.”