Friends rally to raise funds for fire-hit family
AN online fundraising effort has been launched to collect money for the family of Sunday’s Exeter fire tragedy which claimed the lives of a husband and wife, and a four-year-old girl.
The couple who died were yesterday named locally as Dan Rudge, 29, and his wife, Kaylie, 28, who lived at Clayton Road, off Bonhay Road, in the St David’s area of the city.
Two boys aged four and nine, and a seven-year-old girl, who were also in the house at the time of the fire, were transferred to Bristol Children’s Hospital on Sunday. They were said to be in a stable condition.
All six people who were in the property are related to each other.
Dan was a member of Demons Motorcycle Club in North Devon, and the fundraiser has been set up on behalf of the club and friends of the family by Natalie Anderson, of Dawlish.
In less than 24 hours, it had already achieved its fundraising target of £4,000.
Natalie said on the GoFundMe appeal page that money raised would help the family cover costs for funerals, travel, childcare, “and for the other children in the present and the future.”
She added: “Please donate what you can for the family at this devastating time, our thoughts and prayers are with all family and friends and of course the children who are currently still in hospital.”
Police have confirmed an investigation has been launched, but said there was nothing to indicate any third-party involvement in the blaze.
Another fundraiser has been launched by an East Devon community support group, the Estuary League of Friends. Chief executive Rachel Gilpin said: “Tragic news in Exeter. Devastating to their family and friends. We will collect donations in their memory and to support the rest of the family.
“Money donated will be held until needed. Please, Exeter, show your love and pray for the other children.”
Close family of Dan and Kaylie paid tribute to them yesterday.
Speaking at her parents’ home in Exeter, Daniel’s sister, Mandy Rudge, 31, said: “There’s not much we can say, words cannot describe how we feel. I’ve lost a brother, sister and niece. We were talking with them only the other day and now they’re gone.
“Kaylie was the most beautiful person in the whole world and Daniel has the biggest heart in the world. They would do anything for anyone.”
Mandy said the family have so far not been given any indication as to how the fire started. “We have no idea,” she added.
Chief Supt Daniel Evans said: “This is a deeply upsetting incident and one that will cause great distress to the community, particularly to those who knew the family.
“I don’t doubt that people will wish to leave a tribute and flowers at the scene. I ask that at this time the public give our officers space to undertake the vital investigative work at the scene, and we will update you all over the coming days in relation to a safe space where people can leave flowers or a tribute, if they wish.”
FARMING leaders are calling for the “levelling up” of rural areas to boost green growth, with action on broadband, the planning system and tackling crime.
British farming and rural areas can help the country recover from Covid19, drive sustainable food production and ensure access to green space to benefit people’s mental health, a National Farmers’ Union (NFU) report said.
But a growing rural-urban divide must be addressed in areas including connectivity and broadband provision, funding to tackle crimes that harm the countryside, and a planning system that hampers farm modernisation and diversification, it added.
The report was being released as the NFU staged its annual conference – taking place online because of the pandemic – which will hear from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Environment Secretary George Eustice.
In her speech to the conference, NFU president Minette Batters, who farms cereals and beef in the South West, will say: “Investment in farming and in rural Britain not only brings about obvious benefits to food production but can have massive benefits to the whole country.
“If the past 12 months has taught us one thing, it’s that we are all in this together – and a country which levels up everyone, everywhere, is a stronger country.
“Levelling up Britain is not just a north and south issue. Levelling up Britain is also a rural and urban issue.
“We need to enable collaborative green growth to level up rural Britain, providing the economic solutions to a truly one-nation UK.”
Rural areas need better broadband and mobile phone coverage so people can run successful businesses, including farms and the farm shops, wedding venues and B&Bs that many farmers have diversified into, the report said.
The countryside receives less in police funding per head than towns and cities, with an estimated £167 per person in 2018/19, compared with £206 in urban areas, the NFU report said.
But rural areas have increasingly become the targets of criminals, with hare coursing, fly-tipping, dog attacks on livestock, and machinery thefts hitting farm businesses.
Rural crime must be treated as a priority issue by Government, and there should also be ambitions for a nationwide ban on sky lanterns, which pose a fire risk and can harm farm animals and wildlife, the report urged.
Improvements to the planning system are needed so farm businesses can construct the right buildings to make them more sustainable, cut their environmental footprint and provide jobs and homes.
Because of the contribution access to green space makes to the nation’s physical and mental health, farmers’ efforts to look after rights of way should be rewarded through the new farm funding schemes – and the
Countryside Code must be adhered to and updated for the 21st century.
British farming can also become a leader in sustainable, climatefriendly food production, the report said.
But farmers need to be able to use technology and innovation, including new breeding techniques, and be involved in water management to make sure they have access to water in droughts and are protected from floods.
Any natural flood management initiatives, which can include planting trees, reintroducing beavers and restoring wetlands, must have appropriate incentives and involve farmers at every stage of their development, the report added.