A mother says she and her son have lost everything and are living day by day after a devastating fire gutted their home.

Barbara Couillard, 56, and her son Curtis, 20, are facing Christmas spent in temporary accommodation following the blaze at their home on Vindelis Way on Portland at the end of August.

Residents reported seeing plumes of smoke at the time and Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service (DWFRS), which was called to the incident, said the damage to the house was 'extensive'.

Nearly two months on, Barbara and Curtis are trying to get their lives back on track and are staying in Fortuneswell while they wait for their home to be cleared.

Barbara said: "I'll never forget that day when Curtis called me. He said there's flames and his hand hurt, I thought I hadn't heard him right. My head was all over the place.

"He was home on his own that day as I was at the hospital with my grandson and daughter. He was using a chip pan and went to pick it up, then dropped it as it was hot. Then the front room went up in flames.

"On the day the officers asked if I was strong enough to look inside, and when I did I just went down onto my knees. When I'd left that day the house was clean and tidy, when I came back it was destroyed."

Sadly, their family cat, which had just given birth to kittens, had to be put down due to smoke inhalation.

Barbara said: "The firefighters tried so hard to save our cat with an oxygen mask.

"Curtis hasn't picked up from it. To him, our lives have ended because we've lost everything, but I would rather have him here with me than all the stuff we've lost."

Barbara says she is "dreading" Christmas this year, saying she just wants the pair to be back in their own home over the festive season. The property is owned by Aster Housing, which has a number of properties across Dorset.

She said: "One of the housing officers has bent over backwards for us, if we didn't have her I don't know what we'd do. The place we're staying is lovely, and we're lucky to have a roof over our heads, but it's just not home."

DWFRS safe and well manager Vikki Thomas said: "Cooking takes place in almost every home, every day. We want to remind members of the public that this every day activity can be really dangerous.

"If you are unlucky enough to experience a fire, please get out of the house, stay out and call 999."

A spokesman for Aster Group said: "As there was extensive fire damage, there is quite a lot of work we need to do to repair and redecorate the property.

"Because of the type of work we need to do, we arranged for Mrs Coulliard to move into another property in the area until the repairs are complete.

"We’ll continue to support Mrs Coulliard over the next few weeks and we hope to see Mrs Coulliard back in her home as soon as possible."