A heat lamp for a pet tortoise started a fire that burnt down two houses

Two homes worth £700,000 have been completely destroyed by fire - after a faulty lamp in a tortoise enclosure burst into flames.

An elderly lady and a family of four have been left homeless after the blaze set fire to wooden decking behind one of their homes before spreading to the house next door.

The devastating blaze ripped through the semi-detached houses in Rayleigh, Essex in the early hours of Monday (June 4).