Trapped couple tell of blaze escape

A Shropshire couple today told of the moment they said their final goodbyes to each other as flames raged around their flat, trapping them inside.

But now Helen and Martin Goodall can put the terrifying night behind them. Because, after a four-year battle, they have won their court case against their "negligent" neighbours who caused the fire.

On June 8, 2004, Helen and Martin, who were due to get married two months later, were asleep in their flat in Severn Street, Castlefields, Shrewsbury, when smoke alarms woke them.

But by then the fire, which started in a neighbouring flat rented by Sarah Jones and Chris Cole, was already intense and they were trapped by thick, black smoke until firefighters rescued them through a window.

Yesterday, a judge ruled at Stoke-on-Trent County Court that Miss Jones and Mr Cole had been negligent and the fire had started as a result of the candles they were burning being placed too close to the curtains.

They also failed to warn Mr and Mrs Goodall, who now live in Cherry Orchard, Shrewsbury, about the fire.

Speaking after the case, Mrs Goodall, 33, who still suffers from nightmares, said: "It is a relief the court case is over and we can put it behind us and move on."

She said when she heard the smoke alarms, she opened her door to be met by a wall of smoke.

"We were trapped. The smoke drove us back into our bedroom, which was the room furthest from the front door," she said.

"The windows were smashing down. The flames we could see were crawling across the roof towards us. I started screaming for someone to get us out. I have never been so terrified in my whole life. We thought we were going to die," she said.

Mrs Goodall and her husband, now 31, had to lie on the floor and fight for breath.

She said: "We took it in turns to stick our heads out of the window and take a breath.

"I remember reaching over for Martin's hand as we were laying on the floor and saying goodbye to him and how much I loved him."

Mrs Goodall said after firefighters rescued the pair, they were told that if they had been another five minutes in the flat they would have died.

Compensation is to be decided at a later court date.

By Rebecca Lawrence