THOUSANDS of pounds have been raised to support a heartbroken family left “with absolutely nothing” after an electrical fire gutted their home and destroyed their possessions.
Amy Ann, 34, and her two children, nine-year-old Toby and Darcie, seven, fled the fire last week as flames quickly engulfed their home in Pendle Drive, Laindon, near the Crane Pub.
The blaze tore through the family’s dining room and filled the home with smoke, destroying the inside of the property and the majority of their belongings.
Alongside family heirlooms and sentimental items, they lost all their souvenirs from a recent family holiday to Disneyland Florida.
Amy’s sister, Charlotte Hawkins, has spoken of her sister’s utter devastation following the destruction of the home and has vowed to gather support from the community to help her rebuild.
A fundraiser set up with an initial target of £500 has already raised more than £3,500.
She said: “It is devastating, it’s the children that is the difficulty, it is the loss of their bedroom – it broke my heart seeing their things. We came from a Disneyland holiday and Toby saved money to buy things.
“It was heartbreaking seeing that, I cried thinking of it. You really feel helpless.
“It was sentimental things, my nephew is older, he loves Arsenal and is into football and three weeks ago he had a new fish tank installed that was destroyed.
“That is gone, walking in on that I just cannot explain.”
Despite this, Charlotte has said the sister has attempted to “keep it normal” with her children as they recover from the fire with their mum.
She added: “They went to school on Friday, she has to keep it normal.
“The children cried when they found out but she is adamant life is to be as normal as possible, there has been too much upheaval and they were also given a donation from the Red Cross to buy essentials.”
Charlotte added: “I am blown away, people always step up but I have been surprise, we have such a good sum already.
“It shows how neighbourly people are in Basildon.”
To help the family by donating, visit gofundme.com/f/yzbmeg-family-loses-everything-in-house-fire
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