A Newtyle mum has described the moment her house was engulfed in flames after a fire broke out on Friday night.
Cheryl Ballie was out collecting a Chinese takeaway with her two children, seven-year-old twins Aria and Josh, before returning home to Strathmore Gardens.
But as she opened the front door, she was overwhelmed with smoke.
The 36-year-old told The Courier: “The kitchen and the living room were full of smoke and when I stepped outside and looked up, the entire top part of my house was luminous orange.
“I just started screaming to get my kids away because I knew that house was going to go.
“I can still hear the banging and popping of all the windows. It was like my house was exploding and the fire just went so fast.
“If we had been in the house, we wouldn’t be here today.”
Fire crews from Dundee rushed to Newtyle and spent over 12 hours on the scene.
But sadly for Cheryl and her children, the blaze has destroyed much of their home, including Christmas presents.
“The kids keep saying they can’t wait for Santa to come because we haven’t got anything”, she said.
“We had just finished decorating the house and they were over the moon at how nice their bedrooms were – now it’s just a big hole.
“You just can’t put it into words. You see these things on TV and you don’t think it will be you.”
Fundraiser launched for Cheryl and neighbour
A GoFundMe page, set up by local landlady Jen Cameron, has since raised over £8,000 for Cheryl and her neighbour, whose house was also badly damaged.
And Cheryl was full of gratitude for the support the local community has shown.
“I don’t want my neighbour forgotten”, she added.
“She has lost everything too. We’ve both got children so we are both in the same place.
“I want that support there for her as well because she is just as bad.”
“I moved here there years ago and little did I know I was moving into such an incredible place full of kind people.
“The people of this village are what’s giving me the backbone to get through this.
“Everybody who has reached out to me, I could never say thank you enough for everything they have done. “
Conversation