A MOTHER-of-three has described how her family narrowly avoided being killed in a devastating fire which tore through their home on Christmas Day.

The fire took hold at the Merganser Court home where Ann-Marie Mohammed lives with her children and husband, shortly before 5pm on Monday, December 25 and tore through the building within a matter of minutes.

South Wales Fire and Rescue confirmed that 40 firefighters were sent to the scene, with six fire engines and a crane needed to tackle the blaze.

Mrs Mohammed and her three children Yusef, 12, Yasmin, 8 and Aneesa, 3, along with Mrs Mohammed's 25-year-old sister-in-law, did not require hospital treatment and were able to escape the property safely. They were however treated for smoke inhalation at the scene.

Mrs Mohammed, 34, said that she fears the family would have all been killed had she not become aware of the fire at an early stage, with smoke alarms failing to activate immediately after the flames broke out.

"The smoke alarm went off when the windows popped upstairs. By that point the house had been on fire around 11 minutes. We would have been dead if we relied on that to alert us," she said.

"There is nothing left of the inside of the house. Water damage is in the rooms that the fire didn't get to, everything is gone but my children are alive and with me."

After escorting her children out of the house, Mrs Mohammed went back inside to wake her sister-in-law. As the pair tried to locate the source of the fire, Mrs Mohammed said that the flames suddenly erupted, engulfing the entire second floor in flames.

Neighbour Heather Dixon, 40, witnessed the blaze as it unfolded.

"We could hear them outside. Ann-Marie was outside and she was screaming," said Ms Dixon.

"The firefighters basically said when they got here that they weren’t saving the house, they were putting a fire out. They'd already decided there was no house to save."

Without a home over Christmas, the family have been forced to separate until they can be found another place to live in the New Year. Newydd Housing, who are responsible for the property, are currently closed for Christmas and could not be reached for comment.

Mrs Mohammed praised the work of the Vale council, who have been trying to resolve the situation with Newydd over the past few days, as well as the firefighters who came to her aid as well as the people of Barry who have united to support her family.

"I want to thank everyone on the estate for the way they helped myself and the children," she said.

"The support was out of this world. People from as far as Cardiff have brought donations to my sister's house, I just can't believe the extent people have gone to help us."

A gofundme page has been set up to support the family. To donate, visit: gofundme.com/8zxh5m-house-fire-christmas-day