Community rallies for Brotton families after terraced homes blaze

A CLOSE-KNIT community is rallying round to help householders who lost everything as flames ripped through a terraced street of houses.

- By SUE KIRBY

The aftermath of the fire on Errington Street, Brotton

Firefighters battled a blaze in Brotton in the early hours of Sunday morning and occupiers of four homes lost everything.

A fifth home was also damaged. Organisations and businesses are acting as collection points for donations of items and a fundraising page has been set up which has already collected more than £1,600 to support those affected, which include a disabled man and a young woman with a child.

Thankfully everyone managed to escape the blaze as flames ripped through the roof voids of Errington Street when fire broke out at 4.40am.

Steffan Bentley, who set up the funding page, lives in the street opposite and was awoken to the sounds of sirens. He said he feared someone would be killed when he saw the flames ripping along the roof.

The 30-year-old said: "Four of them have lost everything and the roof in the fifth house was damaged so they will have lost a lot too.

"We had a house fire when I was a kid so I know what it is like to lose everything you own." He said it is so devastating and to happen so near to Christmas.