Stamford family left temporarily homeless after falling victim to arson while scattering family ashes in Wales

A fundraiser has been launched by Stephen Brant after receiving a call from a neighbour, while away in Wales, that his home had been set alight; including the front foot and workshop/shed.

Stephen, his wife and four children were away in Cardigan Bay to scatter the ashes of his father- who had passed away two months previously- an area his dad loves visiting.

The family are currently unable to return to the home until it is cleaned and the electronics restored. In the meantime, they are staying on a caravan site in the area.

He said: “My wife and I are fundraising for help with redecorating, rebuilding and spoiling our daughter to a new bedroom and three boys to a refreshing coat of paint along with new beds.

"I lost my dad two months ago and, as we spent many happy holidays in Wales as children, I decided to take my wife and four children on a caravan trip to Cardigan Bay to spread my dad's ashes into the area he loved visiting.

“Whilst there I had a call from a neighbour to tell me somebody had set fire to our front door and workshop/shed. When we got home this is the devastation we faced.

"The chilling part is my daughter's bedroom. Is downstairs two metres away from where they had pushed cardboard and other flammable items and liquids through the letterbox to start the fire.

“Having no insurance, we now face an uphill struggle to find the funds to rebuild the damaged area and redecorate our daughter's room along with the rest of the house; luckily our three bedrooms upstairs were not massively affected and only need painting.

"I work four days a week so cannot afford too much time from work to carry out the work. To make matters worse the offender/s decided to come back two nights later to have another crack at our other front door which was quickly spotted by our neighbour.

“We have nowhere to stay until the house is cleaned and electrics restored so are staying in our caravan on a local site but having just returned from our holiday, funds are very low to pay the site fees.

“We will be eternally grateful for any generous donations given.”

Police have issued an appeal after being called to the property on Saturday morning (August 29).

A Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said: “We were called to the property just after half past midnight on Saturday 29 August where Fire & Rescue colleagues were already in attendance responding to a fire that had taken hold of the property's front door.

“There are multiple lines of enquiry underway while officers try to establish the full circumstances surrounding this incident.

“If you feel you have information that might be useful to assist this investigation, there are a number of ways you can get in touch.

“By calling 101, quoting reference 10 of 29 August

“By telling us about concerns via the 'Tell us about' section of our website: https://www.lincs.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/

“Or anonymously, via the Crimestoppers website: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/.../give-information...”

To support, visit www.gofundme.com/f/recover-from-an-arson-attack.