Peterborough community's amazing effort to help family devastated by house fire - with thousands of pounds and school uniforms collected

A Peterborough community has rallied round to provide vital help for a family who were devastated after their house was engulfed in flames over the weekend.
By Stephen Briggs
Published 9th Nov 2020, 17:00 BST
The scene of the fireThe scene of the fire
The scene of the fire

The home in Marsham, Orton Goldhay, was badly damaged in the inferno, with more than 20 firefighters battling the flames in the early hours of Sunday morning.

All the occupants had escaped the building by the time the crews arrived, although one person needed medical treatment.

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MORE: Resident needs medical treatment after huge house fire in Peterborough

However, the family - believed to be one woman, named locally as Joanna Bogucka, and two children - have lost almost everything in the blaze.

But since the fire, neighbours and others have rallied round to collect items to help them, including school uniforms, while a Facebook campaign has raised nearly £3,000.

Stacy Jackson, who lives on Marsham and has organised one of the collections, said: "I found out about what had happened because there was a lot of speculation on Facebook about who was living in the house.

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"I went down to the scene and passed a note to a police officer asking the family to contact us if there was anything they needed

"I've got a few donations together, as have a few other people - its things like school uniforms and clothes - we don't know what size the children are, so we've got some in a number of different sizes.

"I put an appeal out on the Orton Sellers Facebook group, and we got so many offers, and I know others have done the same. It has been a real community effort.

"I've never met the family concerned, but I just thought that I wouldn't know what to do if I was in those circumstances. My daughter said how lucky we were, because they had lost everything.

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"We are a good community here. At times like this we all have to stick together. This year has also highlighted the importance of neighbours

"The family is staying with friends at the moment, and a friend of mine took some things over to them. They are a bit overwhelmed at the moment, and have asked for no more donations."

The Facebook page to raise money for Joanna and her family has already raised £2,800. To donate money visit https://www.facebook.com/donate/676203979766163/

Related topics:PeterboroughFacebook