Community rallies round to help families hit by fire

A community has rallied round to help families who lost all their belongings after a large fire.

The blaze spread through a row of houses in Dutson, near Launceston, at about 01:48 BST on Sunday, with three properties severely damaged.

All of the occupants escaped unharmed but an appeal has been launched to help the families affected, with the Newmarket Inn in Launceston acting as a drop-off point.

Pub landlady Jo May told BBC Radio Cornwall that there had been a "phenomenal" response to the appeal.

Speaking about the response, she said: "The community have been absolutely fantastic, dropping off clothes, shoes, toys, bedding for everyone involved."

She said she had put one young family up at the pub after their home was gutted in the blaze and "they can stay with me until we can get them a new home".

Charlie, a resident of one of the properties which was least damaged in the fire, said he and his wife grabbed their cat and fled their property after she heard a bang and saw flames.

"The fire brigade came down and did their thing, and we just stood there and watched it burn until daybreak," he said.

Crispin Sobey is the landlord of the group of five houses, three of which were damaged by the fire.

He said two nearby houses had escaped the blaze but three had been severely damaged.

Mr Sobey said he hoped one of the three affected could be saved but it was thought the other two would need to be demolished.

Dozens of firefighters from Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) attended the incident to extinguish the flames.

A spokesperson for CFRS described the fire as "a major incident with a huge emergency response".

Padstow Community Fire Station remained on scene on Sunday to dampen down and monitor hotspots, a CFRS spokesperson added.

Jo May said people were still able to drop off donations at the Newmarket Inn.

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