Mum saves son after Romford home’s letterbox set on fire

�A mum who was asleep when her letterbox was set on fire braved smoke to rescue her son.

Pui-Yee Poon was woken by banging at her door, which she later found out was firefighters trying to get into the property, at around 1am on Monday. Not realising what was happening, she opened her bedroom door and was confronted with smoke.

After unlocking the front door of the house in Harwood Avenue, Romford, the finance and HR worker rushed upstairs through thick smoke to get son, Karim, three.

‘So scared’

The 39-year-old said: “My life would be worthless without my son. I didn’t care about myself.

“I just hid his face and ran outside. I could hear people talking around me all the time but I wasn’t taking anything in because I was so scared. “Even now when I close my eyes all I can hear is the banging on the door.”

Police are treating the fire as arson.

Mrs Poon is married to Fathalla Ismail, a 29-year-old night manager who was at work when the fire happened.

She said: “When I woke up it was because there was someone banging at the door, and I could see blue lights through the bedroom window.

“My initial thought was that it was caused by a gas leak, but there was no smell and no smoke at the back of the house.

Letterbox

“I only found out later someone had set the letterbox on fire.”

Mrs Poon and Karim were taken to hospital suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.

The front porch still shows scorch marks.

The fire is being treated as arson and police are investigating.