A MOTHER has told how she had to hand her children out of an upstairs window when she realised her house had caught fire.

Jane Lindgren has spoken to the Daily Echo about her terrifying ordeal on Sunday night.

She had put her children to bed in their home in Bournemouth then set the dishwasher as usual before going to bed herself.

She was in bed at about 10pm when suddenly the television went off.

She said: "I thought the trip-switch had gone so I went to the top of the stairs to investigate and then I smelt this awful smell and saw lots of smoke coming from the kitchen."

Mrs Lindgren, 36, called 999 and woke her three children - Harrison, six, Thomas, two, and one-year-old baby Phoebe - and took them into her bedroom.

She put a towel along the bottom of the door to prevent smoke coming in and tried to reassure her confused and frightened children.

She said: "I was getting hysterical. I kept asking the fire brigade to get here quickly."

Three fire crews attended with the first on the scene within four minutes of her call and the firefighters set up a ladder to reach the first storey bedroom. Everyone was evacuated withing 15 minutes of the call.

Mrs Lindgren said: "It was scary. I almost broke down when I had to hand my baby out of the window to the fireman."

She said that the fire crews were fantastic with the children and the whole family was rescued unharmed.

Mrs Lindgren added: "We were so lucky. I was glad that we had a smoke alarm because it could have been so much worse.

"You never think it will happen to you."

Station manager at Westbourne Fire Station Phil Abraham said: "The mother did all the right things in the right order."

He advised people not to put their dishwashers on before going bed or leaving the house.

The blaze was traced to a faulty pump in the dishwasher. The house sustained smoke damage.