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Man who lost everything in house fire loaned car

Andrew Turner/BBC Keith Gant behind the wheel of a Land RoverAndrew Turner/BBC
Mr Gant has been loaned a Land Rover Discovery which he admitted he was "quite nervous" about driving

A man who lost everything when a fire destroyed his home has been loaned a car while his is worked on for free.

Keith Gant, 75, was left with only his wallet and the clothes he was wearing when fire engulfed his home in Ashmanhaugh, Norfolk, on Tuesday.

He said he "could not do anything" to get replacement car keys because his ownership documents were in the fire.

Land Rover has given Mr Gant a courtesy car while a dealership rewires his car to run on a new set of keys.

Andrew Turner/BBC A destroyed home in Ashmanhaugh, NorfolkAndrew Turner/BBC
This is all that was left of Keith Gant's home in Ashmanhaugh

The widower and his neighbours, Trudi and David Calver, lost their homes when fire spread through the village, near Wroxham, on the hottest day of the year.

Norfolk Fire Service declared a major incident and dealt with more than 100 incidents.

Mr Gant, who is now living with his brother-in-law near Blofield, searched through the ashes with his family to try to find his keys.

Andrew Turner/BBC Keith Gant outside his burnt home in Ashmanhaugh, NorfolkAndrew Turner/BBC
Keith Gant had lost everything he owned in the fire

He had faced a six-week wait for a new V5 logbook via the DVLA.

"What worried me most was that I couldn't get to my Freelander," he said.

"I'd have had to take it up to Norwich on a truck, and get it repaired.

"There's nothing wrong with it - it only needs a new key, but [to do the work] they needed the log book and ID, which had been lost in the fire.

"I thought it was the end of the world."

Land Rover agreed it could help get Mr Gant on the road much sooner, after BBC Radio Norfolk reporter Andrew Turner stepped in and contacted its head office.

Norwich recovery firm PJ Kerley took the ash-covered car to Inchcape Land Rover, on Cromer Road, for free, where it will be rewired and reprogrammed.

Keith Gant Land Rover Freelander being loaded on to recovery truckKeith Gant
There was nothing that a good clean up of the Land Rover would not sort out - had the keys been found

Asked how he was bearing up, one week after the fire, Mr Gant said: "I am getting a bit better; I'm coming to terms with things now."

He became tearful when he mentioned losing all his photos of his wife, who died three years ago.

The couple had lived at the house for 30 years.

"I'll never get them back," he said.

He added that he had received and been offered a lot of help, including "more clothes than I know what to do with".

"Everybody I speak to says 'is there anything I can do for you?'," he said.

"Everyone is very nice."

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