A father who "lost everything" in a fire has vowed to rebuild his home.

John Easey, 33, and daughter Charlotte, 7, fled their blazing first-floor flat in Clacton when fire broke out just before 7pm on Sunday night.

It is believed a chip pan caused the fire which wrecked the flat above Manly Hairstyles in Old Road.

The kitchen was destroyed while the rest of the flat was severely smoke damaged.

Mr Easey said yesterday: "Everything up there has gone. I don't know how it started, but it was in the kitchen. We got out straight away and then the firemen did an excellent job."

Mr Easey said he had "nowhere else to go" and that he would spend the day tidying up and getting the flat back into order.

He said his daughter, a pupil at Coppins Green Primary School, was staying with her grandparents.

Two Clacton fire crews attended and two firefighters used breathing apparatus. The fire was brought under control in 15 minutes.

A fire brigade spokesman said: "An adult with a child were out of the building when we arrived. There was quite severe heat and heavy smoke. The crew did extremely well containing the fire."

He said that having a smoke detector in the kitchen might have prevented some of the damage.

Ken Coleman, who runs the hairdressing business with Pete Salberg, praised the firefighters for their efforts.

He said: "They made sure there was the least damage possible. We couldn't believe how good they were."

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