Neighbours fear a young family has lost everything after fire tore through their home.

Firefighters from across west Norfolk and the Fens were called after the blaze broke out in an end terrace house on Raby Avenue in King's Lynn.

The alarm was raised just after 1.30pm on Wednesday. Fire crews from King's Lynn, Massingham, Heacham, Downham Market, Sandringham, Wisbech and March were still on the scene more than three hours later.

Firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to look down through the collapsed roof of the property after the flames were extinguished by firefighters using hosereel jets and breathing apparatus.

Neighbours said they heard a loud bang at around 1.30pm. Tiah Richardson, who lives in the same terrace two doors away said: "It literally just went bang, it just exploded.

"We ran out and the whole street was full of smoke, the fire brigade were here within minutes."

Miss Richardson, 22, said the house was lived in a by a young woman, her partner and young children.

"I feel bad for her," she said. "They've lost everything, it's devastating."

The family were not in the property when the fire broke out and no-one was injured.

"It's scary," another neighbour said. "If she'd been in there with the kids it could have been a totally different story."

The blaze caused the roof to collapse as it gutted the top floor of the two storey property.

Fire crews stopped the fire spreading along the terrace, but smoke entered neighbouring houses via the loft space.

Raby Avenue, off Columbia Way in North Lynn, was cordoned off by police for more than three hours as firefighters tackled the incident.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.