Nigel and Pauline Raby were in bed in their terrace property near the seafront in Hunstanton when the lithium-ion cell downstairs in their living room went off on Thursday morning.

Flames spread to a shelf and settee as they frantically got dressed, while passers by and neighbours tried to help as emergency services rushed to the scene on Southend Road after the alarm was raised just before 8am.

Nigel and Pauline Raby beside the remains of the radiator fan which caught fire in their home at Hunstanton (Image: Chris Bishop)

Firefighters from Hunstanton and Heacham used breathing apparatus and a hose reel jet to finish dousing down the room and the couple's furniture.

"If my wife hadn't heard it we could have been statistics," said motorcycle mechanic Mr Raby, 68. "She heard the bang, she heard it explode.

"I just grabbed a handful........

© Eastern Daily Press