Community rally round in a show of ‘heart warming support’ for a family who lost everything in a house fire
Items collected for House Fire victims at orchard school Wisbech. Picture: Steve Williams. - Credit: Archant
A community has rallied round in support of a couple with four young sons who were left with nothing when fire ripped through their Wisbech home.
Items collected for House Fire victims at orchard school Wisbech. Picture: Steve Williams. - Credit: Archant
The parents remain at Broomfields Hospital, in Chelmsford, in Essex, where their baby is being treated in the specialist burns unit while their three other boys aged two, four and seven, stay with family and friends.
In the meantime, donations have flooded in to the school attended by the older children and money totalling more than £1,000 pledged to help them get back on their feet.
A local firm has donated furniture, Tesco have offered to kit the boys out with new school uniform and Wisbech Lions have offered to help re-decorate their rented home.
Orchards Primary School head teacher Nicola Parker, who put a small message on the school website following the fire on Saturday (2), said: “I asked if anybody could bring items into school on Monday and expected a few bits of clothing and maybe some toys from our parents.
House Fire, Lime Avenue, Wisbech. Picture: Steve Williams. - Credit: Archant
You may also want to watch:
“I didn’t expect to receive such an outpouring of support from so many - some as far away as Norfolk. The pledges are amazing.
“This proves how integrated this community is, look at all of this support.
Most Read
- 1 'Loving, caring family man' dies in hospital weeks after A141 crash
- 2 7 of the best pumpkin picking locations in Cambridgeshire
- 3 Work to improve A47 between March and Peterborough begins
- 4 Dramatic pictures catch harvester on fire in 4am blaze
- 5 Butcher Ron to hang up his hat after 64 years
- 6 Paramedics warn of 'tents in car parks' amid mental health crisis
- 7 Police pursuit of suspected hare coursers ends in success
- 8 Illegal poachers stopped in their tracks by eagle-eyed public
- 9 Granddaughter launches bid to help others thanks to football legend
- 10 8 of the best shows coming to Cambridgeshire in November
“Here we have a family in need and other families have dug deep, it is heart warming.”
Donations include clothing, bedding, toys, colouring books and shoes.
House Fire, Lime Avenue, Wisbech. Picture: Steve Williams. - Credit: Archant
Mrs Parker put out her message after seeing a call for help from Hayley Ogden who posted it onto a Wisbech Facebook group.
A day later the post was shared more than 400 times and has been seen by 19,000 people, Mrs Parker said.
Now the school is holding a cake sale on Wednesday and is looking for donations from local bakers to help raise funds.
The family also need men’s clothing in a 34 inch waist long leg trousers and women’s clothing size 10 to 12.
House Fire, Lime Avenue, Wisbech. Picture: Steve Williams. - Credit: Archant
Fire investigators are working to establish a cause of the blaze, which started at around 8.30am.
Three crews of firefighters from Cambridgeshire and Norfolk were called to the scene and spent most of the day damping down the area and making sure there were no other hotspots.
