A BOY who stayed next door to the room to where a woman perished in a hotel blaze is struggling to come to terms with his ordeal.

And his mother has revealed how close her family came to tragedy in the Penhallow Hotel fire in Newquay last month.

Susan Goodlad, of Argyle Street, Darwen, stayed in the hotel with her son Dean, 11, daughters Karly, seven and Zoe, four and her parents Ken, 62, and Brenda, 65.

And she has revealed that her parents, of Beech Grove, Darwen, and Dean were in the room next to Joan Harper, 80, who died when the fire broke out.

Darwen Moorland High School pupil Dean led his grandparents to safety when the blaze took hold and ripped through the hotel.

Susan said the family started therapy two weeks ago to try and help them come to terms with their ordeal.

She said: "They don't like orange colours. They did a fire drill at Dean's secondary school and Dean was shaking in his boots. They have flashbacks at all times of day.

"They don't like barbecues. When there is Bonfire Night we'll keep them in and they don't like being in a smoky atmospehre. The girls don't like having their doors closed at night because they are afraid they won't be able to get out.

"It's so traumatic knowing this woman was in the room next door to my family and they managed to get out safely. We were very lucky to get away with our lives. If my son hadn't been in their room they wouldn't have got out either. It's hard to comprehend."

All the family are suffering the lasting effects of the trauma.

The children lost their childhood "comfort teddies" and the family lost all their clothes.

Susan said: "We are going to Torquay in 12 months. The kids are happy about it. It's like anything else, if you fall down you've got to get back up again. I have to overcome it at some point, but I know I'll look for the fire exits when I get there."

Husband Chris, who works for Dutton's Carpets in Blackburn, stayed at home during the trip.