A heartbroken Scots family have been left with nothing after a devastating blaze destroyed their home.
Anita Bain returned from a shopping trip on Friday, February 11, to find her home in New Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire, up in flames.
The distraught family have been left with just the clothes on their backs after the horror fire destroyed the majority of their possessions.
Anita and her teenage children have been placed in emergency housing by the local council and are thankful that no one was injured, Aberdeen Live reports.
Mum-of-three Anita said: "We went out and the house was fine.
"We even saw a fire engine pass us as we went to the supermarket.
"Then my neighbour phoned me and just said 'your house has gone'.
"Apparently, it just went up like that and we still don't know what caused it yet.
"We were just driving about like idiots not knowing what to do or where to go.
"Everything has gone, one of my children is autistic and he can't understand why we can't go home and do normal things."
Anita has been handed a huge boost after residents in the New Pitsligo and wider area rallied round to help the desperate family.
In just 24 hours, a GoFundMe campaign from New Pitsligo local Rebecca Carpenter, who doesn't know Anita, has raised over £4,000 to help the family get back on their feet.
Kind-hearted Fraserburgh Football Club and its supporters also donated £400 in proceeds from their Highland League match with Clachnacuddin to the cause.
A stunned Anita paid a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has donated.
She said: "The Pitsligo community has been fantastic and beyond; they've been absolutely brilliant.
"I don't even know the person who started the GoFundMe, but I will try and find her to thank her in person because what she's done is amazing."
Anita hopes to return to her home in order to retrieve whatever she can.
"We're in a two-bedroom flat at the movement and I'm sleeping on the sofa," she added.
"I just want some sort of normality for my kids, and I'd like to know what's going on, when we can go back to the house, to even just see if we can salvage anything.
"I want my home back; it was meant to be a fresh start for my kids and me."
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that the fire is currently under investigation.
Donations to the GoFundMe campaign can be made by clicking here.
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