'Amazing' response after arson attack on elderly woman's Swinton home

• Video report by Lisa Adlam

The family of an elderly woman left fighting for life after an arson attack which destroyed her home have spoken of the "amazing" community response.

Anne Davies, 83, suffered critical injuries when her house in Swinton, near Rotherham, was set on fire in the early hours of Monday, 24 June.

She was rescued by family members and remains in hospital.

Since the incident volunteer traders have pulled together to work on repairing the property, which was completely gutted.

Almost £6,000 has been raised through an online crowdfunding campaign.

Mrs Davies' son Barrie said: "Everything - all her personal things - have just gone.

"[But] everybody has come, labouring. Everybody has offered - electricians, plumbers, everything for nothing. I'm overwhelmed with it all."

It is believed arsonists had meant to target a different property when they set fire to Mrs Davies' home on Thomas Street as she slept.

Mrs Davies' granddaughter Lindsey Wraith was at her home nearby when the incident happened.

She said: "I heard glass smash and an explosion and I just presumed it was a car on the street."

After leaving her house she found her grandmother's home on fire. Ms Wraith and her uncle propped a ladder against the property to pull her from a first floor window.

She said: "The whole house was just in flames within minutes. I think 30 seconds later they just would have been gone."

She added: "It's really hard at the minute, I'm struggling a lot. [I'm] just concentrating on getting my nannan better, but the community has been absolutely amazing, everyone has just pulled together."

Mrs Davies' other son Antony said he was "angry" about the incident, but said he was confident his mother would pull through.

"She's a survivor, she has been all her life. Seconds [more] and she would have been dead," he said.

He described the support from the community as "unbelievable".

South Yorkshire Police confirmed it is investigating.

A spokesperson said: "It is believed the fire was started deliberately and an investigation is ongoing to establish the circumstances. Anyone with information can contact police."

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