THE York couple whose car erupted into flames which rapidly spread to two homes and three more vehicle have told of their frightening ordeal.

Heavily-pregnant Lynne Eshelby, 39, from Anthea Drive, Huntington, described how she woke to the sound of splintering glass as the car parked in the drive outside her house caught fire in the early hours of Friday.

She and her husband, Neil, frantically pulled their son, Jack, out of the house - only to spend anguished minutes searching for the terrified five-year-old as he ran and hid from the flames.

Lynne, who works in the children's clothing department at Sainsbury's, said: "I was woken up to these loud cracking and banging noises of the upstairs window breaking.

"I'm quite a light sleeper because I'm pregnant.

"At first I thought the noise was Jack getting up.

"But when I looked out, there was an awful burning smell and the windows were all cracked.

"I was screaming for Neil and Jack to get out, then I rang the fire brigade.

"We lost Jack - he was terrified. The wind was blowing the flames higher than the house.

"The whole drive was like a fireball."

Jack was eventually found hiding at the back of the house.

The following day, Lynne received oxygen therapy in York Hospital.

She was also given a check-up to make sure her baby - due in January - was unharmed.

Now the couple have been made temporarily homeless because of the smoke damage to their house, and have moved in with Neil's mother, who lives nearby.

Both their cars, a Vauxhall Corsa and a Renault Megane, were gutted in the blaze. Last week, the family also lost their beloved cat, which was run over by a car.

Lynne said: "We've lost our cat, two cars and our home in less than a week. I'm just shocked. I don't think we can believe it."

Husband Neil, a painter and decorater, said: "It was unbelievable, like something out of a soap opera. But it could have been a lot worse."

Police said the fire was believed to have been started by an electrical fault in the Renault Megane - although a fire spokeswoman said its cause was "doubtful or deliberate".

There had been two previous incidents in the area overnight, including a deliberate rubbish fire outside garages on Victoria Way at 9.30pm, and a rubbish fire in the middle of Highthorn Road at 10.30pm.

Updated: 10:09 Monday, November 14, 2005