Sheffield mum and son left homeless after devastating house fire in Heeley over Christmas

Jessica Drake, aged 36, took her eight-year-old son Jackson to see Father Christmas as a festive treat last Monday, December 23.

When they returned to their two-bedroom house in Heeley, Sheffield, Jessica opened the front door and black smoke billowed out.

She ran into rescue their pet dog and two kittens before firefighters arrived to tackled the flames.

The blaze is believed to have started due to an electrical fault in Jessica's coffee machine or kettle in the kitchen.

The fire has left the family's home covered in smelly soot and waterlogged as a result of firefighters putting out the flames.

Jessica has now been forced to temporarily move her and Jackson into her mum's home while she tries to raise £5,000 to repair her home and replace lost items.

The mum-of-one said: "When I opened the door, a huge plume of smoke came out.

"My first thought was our pets - I ran into complete black and felt around to grab the dog and the cats.

"It was so surreal, I think I was running on adrenaline. It was awful.

"Christmas was ok as the plan was the spend it with my mum anyway, and I wanted to make it nice for Jackson.

"But at the house, and everything we own, is smoke and soot damaged.

"It was terrifying - you hear about these fires happening but you never think it will happen to you."

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The entire house is covered in black soot and the coffee machine, kettle and boiler are all melted.

And all of their clothes, bedding, and soft furnishings are also ruined as well as Jackson's Xbox.

Jessica said: "The worst of the burn was the kitchen.

"Because we have cats, we had left all the internal doors open, so smoke got into every room.

"It even got into a shut cupboard where I keep my plants and covered them in soot.

"The smell in there is horrendous too. I'll need everything to be cleaned by specialists to remove the chemicals."

While she has home insurance, the payout is yet to be confirmed and she anticipates needing to cover some costs out of her own pocket.

Jessica added: "I think Jackson is struggling, but isn't fully showing it.

"We got him a 'make your own potion' kit for Christmas and he told us he is making a 'fire resistance potion' for the house, so it doesn't happen again.

"I don't think it's really sunk in yet for me, but I am starting to feel the effects.

"I'm quite good at staying stable on the outside, because I can block it out to deal with it. But on the inside I'm starting to crumble."

One of Jessica's friends has set up a GoFundMe page in a bid to raise money to help the family return to their home.

To donate to Jessica's appeal, wellwishers can visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/lets-help-jess-jackson