Kirkby grandmother '˜left homeless' after tumble dryer blaze

A grandmother has been left homeless after a fire at her home in Kirkby.
Patricia Bonser who has had to move in with her daughter following a house fire.Patricia Bonser who has had to move in with her daughter following a house fire.
Patricia Bonser who has had to move in with her daughter following a house fire.

A faulty tumble dryer started a fire at Patricia Bonser’s rented home on Kingsley Road.

The kitchen was completely destroyed, while other rooms were covered in soot and ash, making the house uninhabitable.

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Ms Bonser was not injured, but her cat Star was killed by the smoke.

Christmas presents for family were also ruined in the blaze on December 16.

The 57-year-old has now been forced to move in with her daughter Deborah and son-in-law Paul and their four children.

She said: “I’ve lost everything.

“It completely blacked the walls and I can’t live there anymore”

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Ms Bonser said she was told by Sutton-based letting agency WA Barnes LLP that she would get the deposit of £280 she paid to her landlord returned.

However, she received a letter from the firm saying although rent credit would be repaid, her bond would be withheld “due to the excess on the insurance claim and paint damage caused to the bath which is not covered under the landlord’s policy.”

Ms Bonser said she will now struggle to pay a deposit to rent somewhere else.

She said: “I was relying on that to buy a few new things, as I’ve got to start from scratch.”

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“The bond of £280 wasn’t much, but it was something. I’m temporarily living with my daughter and son-in-law.

“However, there are six of them without me and it is overcrowded. I am getting a bit down now.”

She said she cleared up as best she could after the fire and removed damaged items, but was unable to get the paint off as there was no hot water.

Tom Smith, of WA Barnes, said: “We don’t usually comment on individual cases as it could prejudice their ability to get temporary accommodation.”

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