New photos show fire-ravaged bungalow as owner's family thank neighbours for support

These are the words of the family of a man who lost everything he owned when his bungalow caught fire, and they have come out to thank the community for coming together and giving him support in a dark time.

Mr Parker, 62, was left with "just the clothes on his back" after a blaze ripped through his bungalow, and neighbouring homes, as well as severely damaging his campervan.

The cause of the fire has been found to be a lithium battery on charge, fire investigators say.

Gas cannisters in the property also caused explosions as the blaze devastatingly ripped through the man's home.

Since the blaze on Saturday, April 16, the family have put out a fundraising campaign on Justgiving.com, which has now exceeded the initial target goal of £1000 and now has over £1200 in donations.

A relative, Kerry Jay-Evans said: "We are so thankful to the community showing such kindness and support.

"What has really helped in such a dark time is the shining light of the community support. We have received so many kind messages and well wishes - this has really helped us during this time.

"We are a very tight-knit family, a community family that have always supported local causes and communities, and so to now be on the receiving end has been special - it just shows how the community can pull together and help, and we are just so grateful.

"Any donation, big or small is very much appreciated - we are very thankful."

"He is 62 years old, and his whole life has been taken from him. All his photos, memories and everything he owned is now gone."

However, as well as donations to the campaign online, Mr Parker has very kindly been receiving clothes by his local community, after he was left with nothing due to the severity of the blaze.

Kerry also said they are so grateful to still have Mr Parker here with the family: "The fire service have said to use that he was lucky to be alive, and could have been minutes away from being seriously hurt.

"He was in the back garden after washing his campervan and was sitting in his garden where he noticed the fire and smoke.

"The only way for him to get to safety was for him to go through the fire and smoke, which was incredibly dangerous with all the smoke and explosions going on.

"So despite him losing everything, we are just so grateful to still have him here with us."

The family are now in the stages of clearing up the debris, with a skip now at the property to begin the clean up as they somehow begin to go through the process of building the man's life back together again.