Stokenham: More than £6k raised for pub and home fire victims

More than £6,700 has been raised to help the owners of a 14th Century pub and families who lost their homes which were gutted by fire.

The blaze swept through the thatched Tradesman's Arms and four nearby homes in Stokenham, Devon, early on Monday.

A statement from the pub said staff were "devastated" but were "determined to be back as soon as we can".

The cause of the blaze, dealt with by 18 fire crews, is being investigated but no-one was seriously injured.

More than 100 people have sent messages of support to the owners of the pub and the homes on the pub's Facebook page.

Staff at the Tradesman's Arms said in a statement: "We are all devastated by the recent events and are still trying to process the enormity of it all."

They thanked "everyone for the overwhelming support, comments and offers of help".

"We know it's early days and we have a long road ahead of us but we are determined to be back as soon as we can."

Aaron Ryder of the Marvelfitness gym in Kingsbridge created a Justgiving page which has so far raised £6,705.

And he is aiming to reach £10,000 in a 24-hour fundraising workout at the gym, which started at 19:00 BST on Wednesday.

"I just jumped on it because the sooner we get something done they sooner they can be helped," he said.

"Whatever we can raise is better than nothing."

There are treadmills, cycling and rowing machines available in the non-stop cardio session and there is an open invitation to join in.

"The support has been really good, we even had one of our clients who dropped in from midnight to 3am.

"It would be nice if anyone can pop down, even for 10 or 20 minutes."

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