Support floods in for mum left with 'nothing' after fire

A family has been left with "nothing" after a fire destroyed their home, but has since been "inundated" with support from the community.

The blaze broke out in Yate on Monday afternoon while the woman - who has asked to remain anonymous - was at the park with her four-year-old son.

Crews from Yate, Patchway, Southmead and Kingswood attended the fire, which began in a first-floor bedroom in Cater Drive, Yate, shortly before 18:00 BST on Monday, 27 July.

"I was left with nothing, but the outfit I was wearing. I haven't even got a pair of socks because I had flip-flops on," she said.

The mother and son were at the park on Monday afternoon when they first saw smoke rising from their street, but it was not until they got closer to home that she realised it might be her own house.

She said she asked friends to keep an eye on her son "and ran".

"That was when I realised it was my house," she told the BBC.

Her first thought was for her dog, who she had left inside, but "thankfully", she had left the back door open so the dog could use the garden because it was too hot to take her for a walk.

Doorbell camera footage recorded at the time of the blaze shows a neighbour attempting to break down the door amid concerns the family was at home, because their car was parked on the driveway.

"He was trying to get through the door - he's screaming my name because he thinks I'm in there with my son. That kind of destroyed me," she said.

The fire has completely devastated her bedroom, with the rest of the property and almost all their belongings, including her son's presents from his recent birthday, severely affected by smoke and water damage.

The family have been told they will not be able to return to the house, with the housing associationfinding them nearby temporary accommodation, before they are moved into a more permanent new home.

"I spoke to my son, he can't wait to go back home," she said.

"He knows he's going to have a new bedroom, he knows there was a 'little fire'... and the smoke is stinky and all the house is wet.

"At the moment, when I'm talking, I sound like nothing's affecting me - but I've kind of gone into a blank [state].

"I'm focused on my son... I can't constantly fall apart in front of him."

Since the fire, an outpouring of support from the community has seen the family inundated with donations - including new clothes and replacement school uniform, which she had spent hundreds on in the weeks before the fire.

"I'm a self-employed cleaner, so a lot of my clients have got my bank details for paying invoices. They're now sending me gifts, [telling me] to 'go and get yourself some clothes, go and get your son what he needs'," she explained.

In the immediate period after the incident, the family were taken in by close friend Alex Williams, who set up a fundraiser, raising thousands of pounds in a matter of days.

"I initially put a post on Facebook, asking if anyone had any second-hand children's clothes and toys for him for a couple of days, until we got stuff sorted," said Williams.

"I was inundated with messages of support.

"It was to the point where I had to say, 'I've got enough now, thank you'. We can't take too much - there's no storage.

"They have really been looked after. The community has really come together to support them."

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