Family 'loses everything' after house fire

A family has told of their devastation after a house fire destroyed all of their belongings.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was called to a large domestic fire on Ferrous Way, North Hykeham, on Sunday afternoon.

A spokesperson said there was severe damage to the property which had left it unstable. There were no injuries and the cause was unknown, they added.

Diane Wilkinson, who lived at the house with her husband, two children and granddaughter, said: "We only have the clothes on our backs. Everything's gone."

Diane said she was enjoying "one of the first nice days of the year" with her family when she received a call from a neighbour telling her to come home.

"The whole street was just smoke screen, just a complete smoke screen," she said.

"I can't get that image out my head," she added.

"The hours were going by and the house was just smouldering.

"The emergency services, they just worked tirelessly to get it all put out. They were so supportive."

Fortunately, no one was inside the house at the time and Diane's cat, Willow, was rescued unharmed.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service said there was significant damage to the first floor and roof of the property and moderate damage to the ground floor.

"This damage sustained made the structure unstable which prevented our fire investigators from safely conducting a full report," a spokesperson said.

The family, who have lived in the house for a decade, are currently staying with family just outside of Lincoln.

Over the past 10 months, they had been renovating the house. On Friday, they had just completed the en-suite.

"We started redoing everything, making it our own again, and it's all just gone," Diane said.

A GoFundMe page, which has raised more than £4,500, has been set up by Diane's neighbour Craig Hyndman.

She said the support from her neighbours had been "the most overwhelming part".

"It's not even from the money perspective. Just the words, the thoughts, just everything. You can't put that into words," she said.

"I don't really know how to go about thanking them. We're so humbled by that."

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