A family of seven have been left homeless after their home in Leeds was destroyed in a fire.
Nina and Phil Howard, along with their children and grandchildren, are now set for a prolonged period in rented accommodation following the devastating blaze on Friday in Eastdean Drive, Seacroft.
Friends Lauren Sherwood-Nichol and Becky Patton have launched a Go Fund Me page in a bid to help the family pay for essential items including nappies, food and furniture.
Lauren said: "We cannot imagine what they must be going through right now other than relief they are all safe and well.
"Family, friends and fellow colleagues of the family have been asking if they can help in anyway with anything from nappies, bottles, clothes, toys, food, furniture, accommodation so we have decided to set up this page.
"This isn’t to replace the memories they have lost but to go towards making new memories to last a lifetime."
The fire started in the loft following an electrical fault and a neighbour alerted the Howard family to the fire. While the smoke detector upstairs eventually sounded, it was too late and the ceiling began to cave in.
Lauren added: "It’s pretty much all destroyed, if it’s not fire damaged it’s smouldering or melted or smoke or water damaged.
"They’ve managed to salvage a few items from the living room and that’s about it.
"If they had a smoke detector in their loft then they would have been alerted sooner, the smoke detector on their landing ceiling didn’t detect anything until parts of the upstairs ceiling started falling through."
More than 60 people have donated to Lauren and Becky's fundraising efforts with £2,360 of a £3,000 target already raised. Click here to donate.
