A 70-year-old charity volunteer has described her horror after a freak incident sparked a fireball through her home.

Four fire engines were called to Jane Moore’s house in Norfolk Road, Cliftonville, and crews battled the blaze for hours.

It left most of Ms Moore’s walls covered in soot, windows and furniture charred and a gaping hole in her roof where firefighters gained access.

The blaze started spontaneously next to the kitchen window after light hit a glass paperweight.

Ms Moore did not have home insurance and the devastating damage left her feeling “broken”.

“It felt like my whole world was falling apart,” she told KentOnline.

Since the fire in April, Ms Moore has been working tirelessly to rebuild her home.

The former foster carer had been working at a charity shop in Northdown Road when she was alerted that there were fire engines outside her house.

“I just dropped everything and ran across the road,” she told KentOnline.

“I was worried about the cats, but they said, ‘No, you can't go in. You have to wait.

“We could just see black smoke billowing out of the house.”

Ms Moore watched for two and a half hours until the fire was finally under control later that evening.

The crews then had to smash through the roof to check for any remaining hot spots.

Once Ms Moore was allowed back in her house, she was shocked by what she saw.

“Everywhere was dark,” she recalled.

“I looked at the ceiling, and the plasterboard had started falling down.

“Everything in the bedroom was burnt.”

Sparked by the paperweight, , which she was gifted by a child 22 years ago, the flames spread upwards between the walls to a fireplace in an upstairs bedroom, which then ignited a wardrobe.

At first, Ms Moore’s two cats - Shema and Fivo - were nowhere to be seen.

After repeated calling, it was not until the next day that Fivo emerged from another bedroom where she had been hiding. Shortly after, Shema also came home.

The two rooms upstairs and one downstairs had their doors closed at the time of the fire, meaning they were almost unscathed.

However, the rest of the home has been covered in heavy soot.

Ms Moore - who has fostered 12 children at the house - has been scrubbing the walls herself every day, but has also been helped by the local community.

She said: “The support, especially at the beginning, was absolutely arms wrapped around me.”

Friends gave her a place to sleep, shops have donated materials, and strangers have offered to help clear out her ruined belongings.

A GoFundMe has been started, as the pensioner - who also volunteers at Maya’s Community Centre in Herne Bay - did not have home insurance.

She explained: “I cancelled it about five years ago.

“I've been looking after my disabled brother on carer's allowance for about 13 years.

“When Liz Truss started hiking up the interest rate, my mortgage went from £500 a month to £1,000.

“I was able to remortgage and got it down to £800, but I just didn’t know how I was going to afford it.”

The fundraiser was set up by Junior Job, who wrote: “Jane is a kind and hardworking person who would never ask for help unless it was truly needed.

“Now, she needs her community more than ever.”