A THURROCK woman has thanked the many people who have rallied to support an appeal to help her sister's family, made homeless by a fire.

Maria Sullivan, from Linford, says she is grateful to those who have donated to her GoFundMe page, set up to help her sister Charlee.

On the page she says: "I am writing on behalf of my sister, her partner, and their four children. While they were on the school run, a fire broke out in their kitchen and quickly spread throughout the entire flat. Thankfully, everyone is safe, but the fire has completely destroyed their home.

"They have lost all of their belongings and were only able to leave with the clothes they were wearing. Nothing can be salvaged, and the fire inspector has since confirmed that the property is uninhabitable.

"My sister and her partner are understandably in shock. They now face the overwhelming task of starting again from nothing and replacing the entire contents of a new home. The children—aged 12, 5, 3, and just 7 weeks old—currently have only the clothes they were wearing, and they are not yet aware that they will not be returning home after school.

"This is an incredibly distressing and emotional time for the whole family. I have set up this GoFundMe page to help provide them with some much-needed support as they begin to rebuild their lives."

"Any donation, no matter how small, would be deeply appreciated and will go directly toward helping Charlee and her family during this devastating time."

Anyone who wishes to donate can do so here.

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