A DISABLED schoolboy is one of two children fighting for their lives after a fire tore through their bungalow.

Firefighters rescued two boys, believed to be ten and 13, when emergency services were called to Beambridge, Pitsea, at 3.15pm on Monday after a blaze broke out in a family home.

Essex Police has concluded there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire.

A neighbour, who wished not to be named, told how one of the children suffers from cerebral palsy.

It is a condition affecting movement and co-ordination.

When the Echo attended the scene, the windows and doors of the charred terrace home were boarded up.

A destroyed drain pipe hung from the roof, above a pile of destroyed belongings.

Burnt video games, children’s clothes, colouring pens and furniture laid scattered among the rubble.

The neighbour said: “I was out at the time of the fire.

“If I was home I would have gone in there and helped to rescue those children.

“I do see the children from time to time playing out the front and I always say hello.

“One of the boys has cerebral palsy.

“My house suffered smoke damage, but it’s not too bad luckily.

“When I got back the dogs were freaked out.

“What happened there is such a shame – let’s hope those boys pull through.”

The 13-year-old was flown by air ambulance to the Royal London Hospital while the ten-year-old boy was taken to Basildon Hospital by ambulance, with Essex Police reporting that they were both in ‘life-threatening conditions’.

They have both since been transferred to Great Ormond Street in London.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

However, a joint investigation is being carried out between Essex Police and the fire service.

Residents told the Echo of the horrific scene while the drama unfolded.

One resident reported seeing a woman covered in smoke and ash calling for help while her children were still inside the property.

The fire was extinguished by 4.30pm.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “The 13-year-old boy and ten-year-old boy remain in life-threatening conditions and are currently being treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital.