South London mum and kids left with 'just the clothes on their backs' after devastating flat fire

Damage to Hone family flat
-Credit: (Image: SWNS)


A South London mum and her children have been left devastated with only the "clothes on their backs” left after their home went up in flames - when she popped out to do the school run. Katie-Anne Hone, 26, came home last Friday, October 18, to discover that her beloved flat in Orpington, southeast London, had been gutted by a blaze.

Firefighters said due to the risk of asbestos none of their belongings could be recovered so Kate - along with her three young children Lilly, three, Isabelle, five, and baby Archie - lost everything they owned. The council told the family that the repairs will take up to 12 weeks, and in the meantime, they are sleeping at a family members house.

Kate’s mum Michelle Hone, 51, said her daughter has been absolutely “distraught” since that day. She said: “Kate left to take her eldest child to school and came back to alarms going off. Their flat was billowing with black smoke. She was running up and down the street trying to get people to open their doors and ring the fire brigade because their phones were in the flat. By the time I got there the fire engines had arrived and the fire was put out."

READ MORE: Huge Enfield house fire sees home almost entirely destroyed

Hone flat fire damage
Fire ripped through the flat in Orpington, South East London -Credit:SWNS

Michelle continued: “They were told that they couldn’t go back in to retrieve anything because it was all covered in asbestos. The damage is extensive. The kitchen is completely ruined and the ceiling was taken down. Everything has to be cleaned and repainted."

Kate's mum said that she had been left 'traumatised' by the accident. She said: "She is absolutely distraught. She is so upset, she keeps saying ‘my kids haven’t even got a bed’. They have been sleeping in a spare bed, but they haven’t got a bed to call their own and that is really upsetting her.”

The firefighters said the damage was so bad that they couldn’t tell for sure what caused the blaze - but they have confirmed it was accidental. Kate had loved her flat and had supposedly spent years redecorating the place to make it perfect.

The property was not insured, so the family will have to pay to replace all their belongings out of their own pocket. Michelle added: “They just spent so much money on the flat where they redecorated it all and put all new flooring down. The flat was lovely. She really worked hard to get it how she wanted. Now all of that is ruined. She is very emotional, she cries at the drop of a pin at the moment."

Hone flat fire damage
No sentimental items could be recovered -Credit:SWNS

Michelle explained that the kids 'don't understand' why they can't return to the flat. She said: “The kids don’t understand, they want to go home. They don’t know that their toys have all been ruined. Kate had literally what was on their backs, they didn’t even have a nappy or a bottle for the baby. She was only out of the house for 25 minutes and it did that much damage.”

Now her aunt, Samantha Hone, has set up a GoFundMe page to help the family replace all their essential belongings, which has just reached £700. Michelle also said that many locals have been dropping round bags full of donations.

She added: “People have been so kind, they have been dropping toys off and clothes to help them out. Every time the kids come round I have more donations, so they think it is Christmas already. It is going to take her a while to get back up on her feet. She has got to replace literally everything down to knives and forks."

Michelle continued: “The GoFundMe page is to help her start again. It took her five years to get everything together and she now has to do it all again. The community have been absolutely brilliant. I am constantly getting messages with offers for bits and pieces.” You can donate to the GoFundMe page here.

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