Gosport: Man who saved daughters and wife in anguish after flats fire

Jay Payne threw a mattress from his top floor flat so he could throw his two daughters to safety

A man who threw his two young daughters to safety before jumping along with his wife from his top floor flat to escape a fire has spoken of his anguish.

The fire broke out at Somerset Court, Gosport, Hampshire on Wednesday shortly after 00:30 BST.

Jay Payne said: "Every time I close my eyes I hear my daughters' scream... I feel non-stop anxiety at the moment."

The fire, which burnt through the stairwell and spread to the roof, is being treated as suspicious by police.

The 26-year-old, who said he was woken by a fire alarm, threw a mattress out the window after opening his front door to find the stairwell engulfed in flames.

Speaking on BBC Radio Solent, he said: "It's like a movie I was in and I am replaying that movie over and over in my head."

Mr Payne said he told his two daughters, aged four and seven, "daddy chucks you now or we are all gone".

Firefighters used ladders to rescue residents trapped by the fire which burnt through the stairwell and into the roof

The girls, the youngest of which suffered burns up her arms from her fingertips to her shoulders, were caught by neighbour James Matthews.

"I owe him my life," Mr Payne said.

The family were treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to hospital and later discharged.

Crews in 10 appliances from across the Portsmouth area were sent to the fire

"No-one realises what we're going through right now, how we are going to get over this and where we're going to go - we really do need help," the self-employed plasterer added.

"It's been nearly a week and I've had about eight hours sleep.... every time I close my eyes I hear my daughters' scream."

Jay Payne lost everything in the fire and is currently living in hotels with his wife and two daughters

The family, who are one of six that completely lost their home and all their belongings at the block of 23 flats, had no contents insurance.

They are being temporarily rehoused in hotels.

Mr Payne said: "We are moving from hotel to hotel. Today we are being moved from Gosport, where our kids go to school and we both work, to Portsmouth - away from all of our family."

About 60 firefighters were on the scene at the height of the fire and crews also rescued four dogs and three cats.

The fire service said it was continuing to investigate alongside police.