A FAMILY is grateful to be alive after their tortoise shed caught alight – causing major damage to their house and beloved pet.

Mandi Mcquillan was asleep in her Rating Lane home in Barrow when her children spotted a fire outside their bedroom window.

The 52-year-old funeral arranger rushed outside to find their four-year-old African spurred tortoise Myrtle was on fire after her shed had caught alight.

The Mail:

Mrs Mcquillan said: “It was about 4.30am in the morning and I was woken up by my children who could see a fire and lots of smoke outside their window.

“When we got outside we thought Myrtle was a goner – she was actually on fire.

“We were absolutely horrified. This was our worst nightmare.

“My son grabbed a pan of water and threw it on her to put out the fire.”

The family is not sure what started the fire but think it may be related to the heat pads or electrics in Myrtle’s shed.

“We don’t know whether it was the heat lamps, electrics or a ceramic lamp fell on her bedding overnight,” Mrs Mcquillan said.

“There has to be a lot of heat in there because she is a desert tortoise.

“Everything had been wired and set up correctly so we’re not sure what went wrong.”

Mrs Mcquillan said the family was “beyond relieved” to see their shelled survivor was alive.

“We could see her shell and two legs were on fire – it was horrible,” she said.

“One of the lights in the shed is made of perspex and had melted onto the shell and set on fire.

“We were so relieved to see she was alive. She’s a part of our family.”

The Mail:

Mrs Mcquillan rushed Myrtle to Alexander Vets in Barrow before she was transferred to a specialist in Lytham St Annes.

“The vets were absolutely amazing,” Mrs Mcquillan said.

“They admitted her straight away and got her to a specialist.

“Myrtle’s been given a feeding tube for six months for food and medication and a third of her shell which was burnt off has been replaced with fibreglass.

“It’ll take at least a year to put her right."

The fire also caused substantial damage to the Mcquillan family home.

“The bedrooms were smoke damaged, the windows were melted and the shed is completely gone,” Mrs Mcquillan said.

“It could’ve been an entirely different outcome if we hadn’t woken up and seen the fire.

“We’re so lucky and grateful to the firefighters.

“They were absolutely amazing, we can’t thank them enough for all they’ve done."

The Mail:

Mrs Mcquillan is urging other pet-owners to be vigilant with their heated sheds.

“Check everything carefully,” she said.

“We did that – I was always on the ball but unfortunately this still happened.

“Make sure you have fire alarms fitted; they’re so important."