An Ayrshire family is spending the festive period in a hotel after their house went up in flames.
Kilwinning mum-of-two, Nicole Finlay, has been left devastated after a fire claimed her precious possessions along with her two daughters' Christmas gifts.
Now the community is rallying to help the brave family, who are holed up in the Red Squirrel hotel until at least Boxing Day, with an online fundraiser which has garnered over £350 so far.
Nicole said: "We're doing as well as we can considering the situation.
"Right now we're living in the Red Squirrel but the kids aren't enjoying it, my eldest has ADHD and is finding it difficult. We're all missing home."
The 22-year-old returned home from the town's annual Christmas light switch-on with her girls Macie, 5, and Rylee, who turns two next month, and was horrified to see flames through her kitchen window.
Nicole heroically rescued her eight-year-old bulldog, Holly, who had been trapped inside.
Nicole explained: "The fire began from the cooker and spread to the boiler which blew up.
"I was in a state of shock and had a panic attack when I got home that night. My friend took the kids and I ran into the house to get Holly.
"The firefighters went and got Macie's blanket which has been a comfort to her but we've lost a lot of our clothes, the kid's shoes, and all of our mattresses to smoke damage.
"Most of the kids' Christmas toys are gone now too and I lost a ring containing my brother's ashes and my other brother's hair.
"I still don't know how to feel about it. Some nights I could cry thinking about what we've lost but I need to stay strong for the kids and put on a brave face for them.
"I'm just so thankful we were out of the house when it happened and we're all safe."
Nicole reckons she's lost around £1,000 worth of household items from the blaze that she'll need to slowly replace once her home is liveable again.
Although no official timescales have been given to the Finlay family by Riverside Scotland, Nicole is certain she will be living in the hotel until Boxing Day at a minimum.
Thankfully, the Kilwinning community has rallied to Nicole's aid and set up an online fundraiser to make Christmas a bit merrier for the young family.
Nicole added: "I can't thank everyone enough for donating, it's such a hard time for everyone just now and everyone is struggling. I'm so grateful to everyone who is giving what they can to help my family.
"I've lived in Pennyburn all of my life and I've never been more proud to be part of this community."
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 7.34pm on Thursday, November 24 to reports of a house on fire at Sundrum Place, Kilwinning.
“Operations Control mobilised three fire appliances and firefighters extinguished a fire affecting a kitchen on a ground floor of a property.
“There were no reported casualties and crews left after ensuring the area was made safe.”
You can donate to the online fundraiser here.
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