A MUM and her son, aged about nine, have been left homeless after a fire ripped through their home.

The pair were not home when their end terrace house, on Cedar Road, Canvey, caught alight at around 11.30pm on Monday night.

Arson has not been ruled out and an investigation into the cause has been launched.

Neighbour Peter King, 64, who raised the alarm, said: "I heard a bang which was the back window going.

"I came downstairs to look out of the kitchen door and it looked like fireworks were going off and flames were coming out of the back of the house."

Police are investigating the fire, which took firefighters two hours to get under control.

Leading firefighter Paul Roth, said: "The lounge was destroyed by the fire and the rest of the house was badly damaged by heat and smoke.

"We don't want to speculate about the cause of the fire while an investigation is ongoing."