A woman who jumped for her life from a bedroom window after a terrifying arson attack spoke today of her ordeal.

Vivienne Chapman, 48, said: "I could very easily be dead now."

Ms Chapman and an unidentified man in his thirties lowered themselves from an upstairs window and dropped 10ft into the garden as fire swept up the staircase and destroyed the roof of her terraced home in Cowley Drive, Woodingdean, Brighton.

She said: "I'm extremely upset and shocked by this incident, in particular at the loss I've suffered in relation to items that have meant a lot to me and cannot be replaced.

"Even if I won the lottery I could not replace them.

"I would like to think that justice will prevail and whoever is responsible is caught so they cannot do this to anyone else and go through what I'm going through right now.

"I would like anyone with any information to help the police and call them.

"I could very easily be dead. It's only because I was awake that I managed to escape through the window."

Ms Chapman, who has lived in Cowley Drive since 1999, was slightly injured as she dropped from the window.

Det Sgt Graham Stickings, of Brighton CID, said: "We are treating it as a crime. The fire was started deliberately."

Andy Gausden, manager of Roedean fire station, said: "They were lucky to get out alive."

Neighbours raised the alarm just before 3.30am on Saturday when they saw the front porch of the house alight. As firefighters arrived, flames were engulfing the roof.

The two in the house could not escape down the stairs because the hallway was full of smoke. Both occupants were treated for the effects of fumes at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, and later released.

Ms Chapman's daughter, who also lives in the house, was not at home at the time of the attack.

Twenty firefighters stopped the blaze from spreading to neighbouring properties.

They used hoses from an aerial platform to douse 15ft flames.

A labrador dog was rescued from the kitchen and treated by a vet.

Mr Gausden said: "If neighbours hadn't spotted the fire in the entrance anybody on the first floor would have struggled to get out."

Forensic experts sifted through the debris over the weekend to find out whether the blaze was started inside or outside the property.

Detectives, who declined to reveal the identity of the man in the house, have appealed for information about a medium-sized blue saloon car which was seen near the terrace of five properties shortly before the fire.

Neighbour Michelle Jeal, 37, who lives two doors away, said she heard a car leaving the scene at speed at around the time of the attack.

She said: "I was asleep and heard the screech of a car driving away. I came outside and saw flames coming out of the roof. Then we were told to leave."

Witnesses with information were today urged to call police on 0845 6070999.