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Pontardawe fire: Thousands raised for families hit by blaze

Sophie Roberts set up the fundraising page with the hope of raising £100

Thousands of pounds have been raised for families whose homes were destroyed in a fire.

Sophie Roberts, of Garnant, Carmarthenshire, set up the fundraising page after the blaze tore through homes on Lon Tanyrallt, Alltwen, Pontardawe.

The target of the page was to raise £100, but the total topped £8,000 within two days of Sunday's fire.

Ms Roberts said the community support for the four families in Neath Port Talbot had been "awesome".

Emma Humphreys Piles of donated clothesEmma Humphreys
Clothes were donated to the affected families, but fundraisers say they now have too many

Two homes were destroyed in the fire, while two others were severely damaged, after the flames spread through the roof space.

Nobody was hurt, but three dogs had to be rescued and it took 30 firefighters several hours to bring the blaze under control.

Ms Roberts added: "The family affected, where the fire started, is a family friend. It feels like my duty to help them and support them.

"The community support has been awesome. I'm so shocked. We don't live in a very rich community... I don't want to see them struggle."

Sophie Roberts Sophie RobertsSophie Roberts
Sophie Roberts started a fundraising page for the affected families

There was also an appeal for clothes to replace those lost in the fire, but Ms Roberts said too many had been donated already: "It's amazing. We've got way too much."

She said leftover clothes would be sold, which would then go into the fundraising pot to split between the families.

"The families, they're doing OK now, it's a bit up and down. It's a bit overwhelming," she added.

"They're really thankful to everyone and really grateful - they're as good as they can be after their houses have burned down.

"I just want to say another thank you to the community. Any donations regarding help for the children, that will be great."

Emma Humphreys Bags and boxes full of donationsEmma Humphreys
Clothes and other goods have been donated alongside the fundraising efforts

Kirstie Richards, local area coordinator with Neath Port Talbot council, said the alarm had been raised by a 12-year-old boy.

She praised the response from the community.

"We're still going through messages, phone calls… every way and form, people are dropping in, word of mouth has been fantastic," she said.

"Our small businesses in the community, small charities, have donated loads to us.

"They have lost all their belongings, all the memories, everything you'd have in your household, have all gone.

"Everyone can't do enough… the support has been fantastic."

Clare Way, director of housing at Tai Tarian, said housing officers attended the scene on Sunday evening to give immediate assistance to the tenants.

She said they have remained in the area since then, assessing the damage caused to the homes and supporting tenants with ongoing arrangements and sign posting them to additional help that is available.

She added: "We've been looking for longer term accommodation for them and have identified suitable properties nearby. We'll be assisting them to move into these new homes as soon as possible and will continue to liaise with the local authority regarding emergency accommodation if required.

"We remain in constant contact with the tenants affected to offer our ongoing support and will be working with our contractors and partners to see what other measures we can take to help them at this very difficult time."