Couple lose everything in house fire
A TERRIFIED elderly couple were forced to flee their home of 35 years as a blaze ripped through their property.
June Todd, 78, was woken by the fire alarm going off in her Fence Houses home during the early hours of the morning.
After going downstairs, June opened the sitting room door to find it engulfed in smoke.
Terrified, June shouted on her disabled husband, Fred, 82, and the couple escaped with just the clothes on their backs.
Their granddaughter, Ashley Gillian, 35, said: “It was around 5.45am on Monday and nan was woken up by the fire alarm and went downstairs.
“She was pressing the button thinking the battery was going. She opened the sitting room door and that’s when the smoke hit her.
“Nan shouted to grandad ‘quick, the house is on fire’.”
Fred relies on a stairlift to get downstairs had to shuffle down the stairs on his backside to escape.
Ashley, who also lives in Fence Houses, added: “They have been left with nothing. They have been told they won’t be able to save anything from the house.
“In the sitting room all the plaster is gone, the ceiling is gone, everything else in the house has suffered smoke damage.
“My grandad’s mobility scooter and wheelchair are both gone.”
Fred and June, who have been married for 58 years, are now staying nearby with family and have been left heartbroken by the devastating incident.
■ June and Fred Todd’s home was destoyed by the fire
Ashley said: “It is hitting my nan worse now. They were both taken to hospital to be checked for how much smoke they had inhaled.
“What we were told was that the fire started in an electrical socket in the living room, they think it was an electrical fault.”
Now family and friends have rallied together to raise funds for the couple after their great-granddaughter, Anais Clegg, launched a fundraising campaign, with more than £2,000 raised in just days.
Ashley added: “It is really, really overwhelming. Everybody has been really lovely and asking about them.”
To donate to the fundraising campaign, visit https://www. gofundme.com/f/fred-and-junesfire-fund.