Thousands of pounds raised for family who lost everything in devastating fire

A gofundme page has already exceeded its target of raising £5,000 for a family from Olney, near Bedford after their house was destroyed by fire on Sunday afternoon.

The page was created at about 8pm on Sunday evening and by Monday morning it had raised £6,675.

It was created by Max Jeavons who wrote that the fire on Austen Avenue in Olney was at his brother's house.

He went to say that the family was a huge part of the Olney community and they were lovely people who had had the "worst luck".

"Thankfully everyone is safe but after what has already been a tough year due to the pandemic, this is a devastating blow," he added on the page.Buckinghamshire Fire attended the blaze and said firefighters used two main jets, two hose reels, four breathing apparatus and a turntable ladder to get the fire under control.

It reported that the house and garage were severely damaged and there was also heat damage to neighbouring properties.