A YOUNG father who rescued his three children from their burning home has been hailed a hero.

Daniel Arnold, 23, of Brighton Avenue, Southend, was woken early on Monday morning as a fierce blaze engulfed his house.

Surrounded by flames, he grabbed his three young children - Chloe, five, Scott, four, and Courtney, three - and carried them into the garden, before firefighters arrived.

Mr Arnold said: "I was asleep on the sofa and I woke up when my feet felt a bit hot. If I hadn't woken up I would not be here now.

"The children were already shouting dad, dad, there's a fire', and there were massive flames everywhere."

The whole of the mid-terrace house was burning when two crews from Southend and one from Shoebury arrived at about 6am yesterday.

It is believe the fire was started by accident, as one of the children admitted to Southend station officer, Martyn Hodder they had been playing with a lighter.

Mr Hodder said: "The neighbours told us who was living there, and at first we thought we would be pulling bodies out.

"The firefighters faced perilous conditions as they used breathing apparatus to enter the building.

"Only when somebody got to the rear of the building did we find all four of them, still in their pajamas and barefoot."

Although Mr Arnold admitted he'd forgotten to replace a smoke detector alarm battery, he was praised for his quick actions.

Mr Hodder said: "He was very honest about it all and did all the right things by getting the children out as fast as possible.

"The kids were OK, but when we first found him his clothes and his face were covered in ash and debris.

"After it was all over, Courtney asked: where's my house gone'?"

After the young family were checked over by paramedics they moved in with Mr Arnold's mother Gillian Cobb, 47, who lives next door.

She said: "I think they made the firefighters panic a bit because they were in the back garden when they arrived."