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Ashmanhaugh: Happiness for house fire victim who lost everything in blaze

Andrew Turner/BBC Keith Gant outside his new bungalowAndrew Turner/BBC
Keith Gant said he was happy after moving into a new bungalow in a nearby village

A man who lost all his possessions when a fire engulfed his Norfolk home in the summer heatwave said he was "happy now" after settling into a new bungalow.

Keith Gant's home in Ashmanhaugh, near Wroxham, was gutted on 19 July when fires took hold in four villages.

The farm worker was left with just his wallet and the clothes he was wearing.

Mr Gant, who had lived in his home for 30 years before the blaze, said: "I've got somewhere smaller and I'm set up so I'm all right".

Among his destroyed treasured possessions were photos of his wife Olwen, who had died three years previously.

But the widower, 75, said relatives had shared their pictures of her, which were now proudly on display at his new home in nearby Sloley.

Andrew Turner/BBC Keith Gant holding a framed photo of his late wifeAndrew Turner/BBC
Mr Gant said relatives sent him photos of his late wife after all of his were destroyed

Mr Gant has also carefully moved his late wife's beloved plants to his new garden.

"I would have stayed there the rest of my life if this hadn't have happened," said Mr Gant.

"I'm recreating my Ashmanhaugh garden, but in Sloley. She's still here really."

Andrew Turner/BBC Keith Gant in his new gardenAndrew Turner/BBC
Mr Gant said he was enjoying his new garden - now planted with flowers grown by his late wife

Mr Gant said he was offered the housing association bungalow in August after spending the immediate aftermath moving around different addresses.

"We're happy here now - we've got good neighbours," said Mr Gant.

"All the furniture has been given to me - people are so kind.

"[I'm] getting back to normal - well, what normal can be."

Andrew Turner/BBC A destroyed home in Ashmanhaugh, NorfolkAndrew Turner/BBC
Mr Gant and his neighbours lost their homes in Ashmanhaugh during record-breaking temperatures

Mr Gant and his neighbours lost their semi-detached homes when fire spread through the village on the hottest day of the year.

There was a surge in blazes across Norfolk that day, with people also losing homes or having them badly damaged in Ashill, Brancaster and Poringland.

The events led to Norfolk Fire Service declaring a major incident and deputy chief fire officer Scott Norman said a full review was taking place.

"We'll be putting a report out to see if there's anything we can learn from, because it was unprecedented heat following a period of dry spells," he said.

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