A MATCHBOROUGH family have spoken of their relief after surviving a blaze that ripped through their home, leaving them homeless.

Matt Hardware, aged 20, said the fire at the family's Binton Close home on Wednesday afternoon destroyed most of the rooms upstairs and left a gaping hole in the roof.

He said they were enjoying the afternoon sunshine in the garden of their end-terrace house when electricians re-wiring the home said they could smell smoke.

Mr Hardware said his parents and brother Christopher, aged 17, rushed out of the house and immediately called the fire brigade.

"The smoke was coming from the ceiling upstairs, so we lifted the loft hatch but were met with a blaze of flames," he said.

Mr Hardware added: "We're all absolutely devastated and don't know what's hit us. It's going to take a while for it to sink in.

"I'm just relieved it happened in the afternoon. I shudder to think what could have happened if it was night-time."

Redditch and Bromsgrove fire fighters tackled the blaze and had cleared up by 8pm that evening.

Mr Hardware said he thought the fire started in the boiler, but he was still at a loss to explain how it happened.

He said neighbours helped to clear the mess and block up the roof with tarpaulin, but four rooms, including the bathroom and a bedroom, were completely destroyed.

The remaining rooms and the house next door are smoke-damaged.

Meanwhile, the Hardware family is staying in temporary accommodation until a new home is found for them.