A shocked family were woken up to the sound of their shed exploding, causing a fire to spread to a car and an electricity pylon – resulting in a nearby school to be closed due to no power.

Tina and John Collins, son Ben, 17 and daughter Mya, 13, leapt out of their beds when they heard an almighty bang at around 5am yesterday at their home on Park Crescent, Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen.

As they went outside, they realised that their fridge freezer had blown up and caught fire which was spreading quickly.

Mrs Collins said: 'I am more gutted about my son's car, he only passed his test three weeks ago. I woke up to the sound of a big whoosh, it was very scary.

'My husband is a hero though, he quickly moved a motorbike that was close by and he also moved gas cylinders and used a hose pipe to try and dampen everything.

'Ben called the fire brigade, but they seemed to take forever to come.'

Mrs Collins said that although the house is insured, the shed and its contents are not, but thankfully the car is.

Three windows of the house have been cracked in the heat and the wheelie bins are melted.

But now for the Collins family there is a big clean-up operation, and electricians are busy trying to fix the pylon.

Mr Collins tried to stop the fire from escalating, he said: 'I tried with a hose pipe but it wasn't helping, it went up so quickly.

'The neighbours have been great and they brought us a cup of tea earlier.'

A neighbour, who did not wish to be named, came over to help the family clear the damage up, despite having no sleep because of working on a night shift.

He said: 'As I was coming home from work I could hear sirens so I knew something wasn't right with it being such a small village.

'They were so lucky, it was a good job John used the hose pipe to dampen everything down, he stopped it spreading to the house.'

Have you been affected by a fire? Email natalie.copeland@archant.co.uk.