A Perthshire homeowner has spoken of the devastation of watching her home of 67 years destroyed in a fierce fire.
Marion Drummond, 74, watched helplessly as her thatched cottage was one of four that burned to the ground in a fierce blaze in Highland Perthshire on Friday.
A fifth house in the hamlet of Fortingall, near Aberfeldy, was also seriously damaged in the fire, thought to have broken out in a shed.
She returned to her home on Saturday to survey the damage.
The owner of the tiled roof house next door was also at the scene but was too upset to speak.
‘Everything has gone’
As she tried to sift through what is left of her, home along with family members, Marion said she is still in shock.
She said: “Everything has gone.
“I am left with what I am wearing – absolutely everything has been destroyed.
“I’ve been looking to try to find some of my jewellery and I have found my mother’s eternity ring – it’s blackened but I have it.”
Marion said she moved to the cottage with her parents, 67 years ago when she was only 7 years old.
She said: “All my childhood memories are in that house and it’s all gone.
“It’s hard to know what to say – I think I am still in shock.
“It’s awful for everyone that all the houses are destroyed but this was my main home – I lived here all the time.
“There was a doll’s house that my daughter made that I have been thinking about and that’s gone too.
“I went to get a warm coat to put on and realised that like everything else I possess it’s gone – I am literally left with the clothes I am wearing.”
Marion said she hadn’t been at home when a neighbour phoned to let her know what was happening.
She hurried home and stood and watched as fire crews tried to battle the blaze.
She said: “We know the fire started in the shed at the back and because of the thatched roofs the fire very quickly took hold.
“The flames also spread to the tiled roofed house next door and the upstairs of that house is also very badly damaged.
Crews fought Fortingall fire for 13 hours
The alarm was raised in Fortingall, near Kenmore, at 10.30am on Friday.
A total of 12 fire crews were in attendance at the height of the blaze.
Crews remained at the scene overnight.
A fire service spokesperson told The Courier the blaze is thought to have started in a shed before spreading to several cottages.
A statement from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were alerted at 10.27am on Friday to reports of a dwelling fire on the main road in Fortingall, Perthshire.
“Operations control mobilised appliances to the scene where firefighters worked for hours to extinguish the fire affecting multiple properties.
“There are no reports of casualties at this time.
“We received the stop message just after midnight on Saturday.”
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