A widowed mother-of-three has thanked well-wishers for their support and donations after fire devastated their South Harting home.

Michelle Harradine believes fire safety should be taught early at schools as the lesson she gave her five-year-old daughter, Ayla, could have saved their lives.

Her “little angel” raised the alarm before an electrical fire which started in her bedroom engulfed the upper floor and loft of their Warrenside flat on April 19.

The blaze left the family with little more than memories and, tragically, destroyed belongings of Michelle’s late husband, who died before Ayla’s second birthday.

“A couple of weeks before the fire I warned her (Ayla) what to do in an emergency,” said Michelle, with the family currently living in temporary accommodation in Sheet.

“When it happened I told her ‘the house is on fire, you need to go next door, call the fire brigade and take the dog with you’.

“She flew out of the front door and knocked on the neighbour’s door. She was really good and kept going until they answered.

“Meanwhile I was on the balcony with a hosepipe. The wall was orange and knew I had to get out but downstairs there was thick black smoke.”

Michelle said what happened next “was a bit of a blur” but her neighbours came to the rescue, helping her to safety with a ladder and providing her with clothing while firefighters from six stations battled the blaze.

Friends and well-wishers have rallied in support with a GoFundMe campaign for Michelle and her Family, launched by Liberty Meakins and Harvey Elston, raising close to £2,500 at the time of writing. Michelle is grateful for every penny, calling the response “really moving”.

“We’ve always been a close community,” said Michelle, adding: “When my husband died everyone rallied as much as they could.

“I would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone that’s donated and also to those who helped on the day.”