£3K+ raised for Perthshire family whose home damaged by fire

A Perthshire family have launched a fundraising appeal after a fire damaged their home.

On Sunday, residents had to be evacuated due to a fire that tore through Laidneskia House near Grandtully.

Three fire engines were dispatched to the blaze, which burned for around two hours.

The house was significantly damaged and the owners had to move to a hotel.

Tammy Ashton-Clements, 33, lives at the property with her parents.

She said: “Around 12.15pm a stranger knocked on the living room window saying the roof was on fire.

“Dad went up onto the roof with buckets to try and put out the fire.

“I tried to get Mum out of the house and we put the dogs into the garden.

“The stranger very kindly phoned 999.

‘Could have been a lot worse’ says Grandtully fire victim

“Our neighbours came down and took Mum up to their house.

“All Mum could do was watch from afar.

“The firefighters were soon joined by the Pitlochry team.

“They said that if we had caught it earlier there would have been less damage but also if we had not been told by a passerby it could have been a lot worse.

“Thankfully the original stone walls helped stop some of the spread into the remainder of the house.”

Tammy had moved back in with her parents to help her mother, who is regularly in hospital.

She took over their finances but said their house insurance had lapsed and the fire struck before she had got around to organising its renewal.

This has left the family appealing to the public for help after the blaze damaged their home.

GoFundMe launched by Grandtully family

Tammy set up a GoFundMe on Tuesday to ask for donations from the public.

The page has so far received more than £3,200.

The family were gifted clothes, electronics, and money from kind neighbours.

“I’m just so thankful that the community has rallied,” Tammy added.

“We have had offers of clothing, cleaning, blankets, food offered to us.

“We have lived in Perthshire since 1998 and grew up here, went to school here, got married here, worked here.

“I’m also so grateful for how quick the crews of Aberfeldy, Pitlochry and Dunkeld arrived to put out the fire.

“It could have been a lot worse.”

A spokesperson from Scottish Fire and Rescue said: “We were called to a fire at Laidneskia House at 12.19pm.

“Three appliances were dispatched.

“We were given the notice to stop at 2.03pm.”

Meanwhile, a resident has told of the precious items he lost in a house fire that closed down a Perth street on Thursday.