Mother-of-four Cynthia Smith suffered a double blow when a shed containing most of the family's belongings went up in smoke - and her seven-year-old son was to blame for the blaze.

Her family had relocated from the family homestead in Ord Road, Warwick, last year to rent out their cottage to earn money to put the family's oldest son through golf college.

Most of their belongings, including ancient family heirlooms, were carefully packed away in a specially built shed as Mrs. Smith and her husband moved to an apartment. The children went upstairs to live with their grandmother while two bedrooms were being built.

But when the family's youngest son went wandering with a box of matches on Sunday a lifetime of memories was wiped out in one evening.

Mrs. Smith said she was grateful her son had not been hurt in the blaze.

She said: "We couldn't find him for a moment. He was right behind us and then he was gone. He was hiding because he realised what had happened. Then we found him shaking and crying.

"He's shaken up and in turmoil. He doesn't understand what's happened. We sat down and explained it but he's only seven.

"He was so scared when he saw the Police. He asked 'Mommy, am I going to get locked up?' Even the police lady had to tell him she wasn't going to lock him up."

"He went looking for a certain toy and he had a box of matches. He told my mum he had lit one match and it caught a bit of paper on fire and he didn't know how to put it out but was too frightened to tell us."

Mrs Smith first saw the smoke when she went outside to call in her 18-year-old son for his birthday meal shortly after 7 p.m.

Lost in Sunday night's blaze were thousands of dollars worth of goods including the families summer clothes.

"That shed had everything I owned," said Mrs. Smith.

The family has also lost irreplaceable momentos including photos and videos of the children, school books, certificates and sporting ribbons.

"The only thing we took into the apartment were my husband's Nascar stuff and my winter clothing. I was just about to change into my summer stuff. I lost craft work I had done including photo albums and baskets."

Ornaments Mrs. Smith had bought each child for each year of their lives which she had intended to give them when they left home were all destroyed.

She said: "Only photos of me remain, the children's stuff is all gone. When you think about it there is about 20 year's of life in that room."

Precious drawings done by her grandmother are the most devastating loss said Mrs. Smith.

She said she wanted to thank a by-passer who stopped to lend a hand and the fire service who did their best to salvage items during nearly two hours on site.

"They pulled that place apart trying to save stuff but it was all burned and smoke damaged. Everything's gone."

Lieutenant Lloyd Burchall of the Bermuda Fire Service said the matter was still under investigation.

Mrs. Smith said the fire brigade advised people storing heirlooms to use fireproof boxes.