It was choc horror when Nina Blyth's flat was gutted by fire.

She lost everything, including her Christmas chocolate selection boxes. Now mail order company Morses have saved Christmas for 75-year-old Mrs Blyth.

She said: "Sixteen boxes melted away to nothing in the fire. They made a glorious mess of the place. When Morses got to hear about it they offered to replace them all. They really have saved Christmas, it wouldn't be the same without selection boxes."

Morses have promised to strike the £72 bill for the chocolates from their books and have replaced them free of charge.

Olivia Harvey, Colchester based regional group manager of the company, said: "Mrs Blyth is a valued customer and when we heard what had happened we wanted to help make her Christmas go well.

"Mrs Blyth has been a good customer for over ten years, it was the least we could have done."

Mrs Blyth's ground floor flat in Albermarle Street, Harwich, was destroyed when fire swept through the building on the evening of October 25. The fire started when her grandson, Philip, began playing with his games machine.

Speaking from her temporary accommodation in Little Oakley she said: "There was an electrical fault and the thing caught fire, I've never seen anything go up so quickly.

"Now Philip will get his selection box and so will all the family."

Christmas boxes - Nina Blyth and grandson Philip Cleary celebrate the replacement of their chocolate selection after a disastrous fire.

Picture: STEVE BRADING

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.