Mum and children made homeless by Mansfield house fire

Roxana Walker, 44, and her two children Jemma, 17, and Liam, 7, live next door to the house on Big Barn Lane, which caught fire in the early hours of April 20.

Firefighters rescued a young couple, named only as Chris and Ellis from the second floor of the property.

The blaze is thought to have been started accidentally.

Roxana said she was woken by shouts for help coming from next door.

She said: “I was asleep when I heard panicked cries from next door. I wasn’t sure what I was hearing so I went to the window.

“I couldn’t see anything so I opened it and smoke just poured in so I realised what had happened.”

She said she then heard her next-door neighbour shout ‘help’ and shouted back to ask if they’d called emergency services.

“It was terrible, I went and go the children up and quickly got them out the house and waited for them to get here.”

“It was awful having to drag them out of bed, I’m just glad no one was hurt, that’s the main thing. We’re all safe.”

Water used to put out the flames has completely drenching the entire inside of their home, which together with smoke damage and electrical failure means their property has been declared as unsafe to live in.

Roxana said: “The entire house is flooded, we’ve lost almost everything. My loft had caught fire and then the whole house flooded from water from the pipes and from water that was used to put it out.”

“Miraculously, my tele on the wall did actually survive, I have no idea how but all the other electricals are gone.”

Roxana’s family have set up a GoFundMe page to help her get back on her feet.

You can donate here