Please Help My Sister and Her Young Family After a Devastating Arson Attack ❤️

I am setting up this fundraiser on behalf of my sister and her family, who have been left devastated and frightened after their home was targeted in what is now being treated as a deliberate arson attack.

In the early hours of 25th August, at around 2am, my sister and her family were suddenly woken by a frantic neighbour banging on their door to alert them that their garden was on fire.

My sister was in bed with her three young children — her 4-month-old baby, her 3-year-old daughter and her 4-year-old daughter. They were all completely terrified and had to wake up in the middle of the night to the frightening reality that their home was on fire.

Thankfully, they were alerted in time, but the experience has left them extremely shaken. No family should ever have to feel scared or unsafe in their own home, especially three very young children who are too little to understand why this has happened.

The fire has caused severe damage to the back of the garden and the property, as well as extensive smoke damage inside the house. The incident has now officially been treated as a deliberate fire, and investigations are ongoing.

Unfortunately, my sister did not have home insurance, meaning the family is now facing the huge financial burden of repairing the damage themselves at a time when they are already struggling emotionally.

There is a long list of essential work that needs to be carried out to make their home safe again, including:

-Re-rendering the back of the house

-Replacing two windows which have cracked due to the extreme heat and are currently unsafe, including windows in my niece’s bedroom

-Replacing the damaged fencing and garden gate

-Clearing the garden and making the whole area safe for the children

-Dealing with the smoke damage throughout the house

-Replacing carpets which have had to be removed because of the smoke damage

To make matters even harder, all of the children's dad's tools that were stored in the shed were also completely lost in the fire. As he is self-employed, having to take time away from work to deal with the aftermath of the fire, repairs and everything the family is facing also means lost time and lost earnings. This is adding even more financial pressure to an already incredibly difficult situation.

As upsetting as the damage to their home is, one of the things that has been hardest for the children is seeing their garden and all of their belongings destroyed.

The girls have lost their bikes, scooters, outdoor toys, garden toys and their much-loved Wendy house — the little things that made their garden their happy place.

They are only 3 and 4 years old. They don’t understand why someone would deliberately start a fire or why they have suddenly lost the things they loved playing with. They are frightened, upset and understandably struggling after such a traumatic experience.

Our main priority is to help my sister and her family make their home and garden safe and secure again. Once the essential repairs have been taken care of, we would love nothing more than to give the girls back a little bit of normality by rebuilding their garden and replacing some of the things they have lost.

We know times are difficult for everyone, and we are not asking for large donations. Even £1, £5 or £10 would make a difference. Every donation, no matter how small, will help take a little bit of the financial pressure and stress away from this family.

If you are unable to donate, sharing this fundraiser would mean just as much to us. You never know who might see it and be able to help.

This family should be able to feel safe in their own home again. These little girls deserve to be able to play in their garden without fear, and my sister deserves the chance to concentrate on her children and getting their lives back to some sense of normality rather than worrying about how they are going to afford everything that needs repairing.

We would be incredibly grateful for any help, support, donations or shares.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read their story. ❤️ Every single donation and share really could make a difference to this family.