A FAMILY left homeless after their home was struck by lightning and set on fire say they have been “overwhelmed” by the generosity of donors.
An online fundraising campaign set up after the house in Wadham Grove, Emersons Green, was wrecked on June 22 had raised more than £21,600 as the Voice went to print.
People also rallied round to offer practical help to the family whose home was destroyed, including offers of clothes and places to stay.
The house was hit during a violent storm that swept through the area, in the middle of a heatwave that saw a rare Red Extreme Heat warning issued, schools closed and recycling collections cancelled.
Avon Fire & Rescue Service said the fire in Emersons Green was one of five caused by lightning strikes during the storm, which also caused power cuts and internet outages, and knocked out traffic lights on a roundabout on the Avon Ring Road.
After the fire a friend of the family in Wadham Grove, Georgia Thomas, set up the fundraising page on website Gofundme with their consent.
The family sent a message of thanks to everyone who had stepped forward, saying: “We continue to be overwhelmed by the help, offers of support and contributions to the GoFundMe that we have received.
“The generosity shown by family, friends, colleagues and people we have not, and will probably never meet, continues to leave us humbled.
“Words cannot express how much everyone’s support has meant to us, but we know we’ll never be able to thank everyone individually.
“In these tough days it has warmed our hearts to know people have been looking out for us.”
The fundraising page can be found at tinyurl.com/mryh2xw8.
South Gloucestershire Council confirmed that traffic lights at the Rosary Roundabout, on the A4174 next to Emersons Green Retail Park had been temporarily knocked out during the storm.
A spokesperson said: “We believe this was related to lightning, as several electrical components within the circuits failed at the same time.”
The Red Extreme Heat ‘risk to life’ warning issued by the Met Office for June 24 and 25 – only the second ever – led to most schools closing, along with some buildings such as Staple Hill Community Hub.
*An online fundraiser has been launched for two families in Lyde Green whose homes were badly damaged by a fire on June 28.
The neighbours, a family of four and a couple, saw their semi-detached homes in Lilac Drive badly damaged in the blaze, which started accidentally and left one person needing treatment for smoke inhalation.
The fundraiser can be found at tinyurl.com/3pkz96f2.