Help Family of Bungalow Blast

On Wednesday the 6th June 2018, just as they were settling into bed, the bungalow exploded with them still inside it  - tearing through the kitchen, living room and part of the roof while setting the kitchen ablaze.

Married couple Anthony Bowen, Vanessa Bowen and their close friend Philly Cashion now find themselves in temporary housing far away from home, having escaped with nothing but their phones, their dog Loki, the clothes they wore to bed.

It is only through the generous donations of council workers, friends, family and neighbours have ensured they have immediate access to clothes, food parcels, a roof above their heads and beds to sleep in.

The building itself has been too structurally unstable to risk retrieving any items or attempting to mount a rescue on their other pets caught in the blast. As such they are without their possessions, money, bank cards or the comfort of their cat, Thor.

It is unknown how long the work will take to deem the property safe enough to enter, let alone how many months it could take to repair the damage to a point the bungalow was habitable again.

Anthony and Philly are both disabled, which makes this stressful set of circumstances all the worse, especially when vital medication was left irretrievable in the house.

All three of them have had their lives devastated by this turn of events, all happening so soon after they'd moved in, just as things were set up the way they liked and the final boxes almost unpacked.

Imagine having your house, a beloved pet and everything you own being taken away from you.

Imagine being unable to go to the shops, to buy anything, to be solely dependent on the donations of food and clothing from kind neighbours.

Imagine being far away from home in a part of the city you don't know, with no internet and minimal ability to contact others, to request updates, to ask for help.

Without bank cards or proof of identity (or transport to get to the bank in the first place), this household is dependant on your donations, which I, a local friend of theirs, will deliver to them by hand.

Any contribution, however small, would be really appreciated to ensure they have access to food, clothing, medicine, bus fare for doctor's appointments and so forth.

Even as little as £2 would mean a lot when faced with so little.

Thank you for your support.