A FAMILY of five have been made homeless and left with nothing after a Halloween fire broke out in their West Somerset house.

Now, an online appeal has so far raised nearly £1,000 to help Andy and Chantelle Scott and their three children, Aurora, aged eight, Mila, aged six, and three-year-old Parker, who attend Knights Templar School and its nursery, in Watchet.

They had gone out for 45 minutes on Friday afternoon (October 31) and returned to their home in Normandy Avenue, Doniford, to prepare for a family Halloween party.

But, instead they found the living room destroyed and the rest of the semi-detached house filled with black smoke after a charging device overheated and set light to furnishings.

Firefighters from Minehead, Williton, and Nether Stowey attended the incident and contained the fire to the living room but could not prevent the rest of the property becoming smokelogged.

Mrs Scott told the Free Press: “We have lost everything, it is devastating.

“The children were traumatised.”

Mrs Scott, who is a support worker for a local man with learning difficulties, had earlier in the day been to hospital for a spinal steroid injection, and later in the evening suffered a fall which tore tendons in her foot.

She said: “It was a wild day, a crazy day.”

The family were able to stay with relatives for a few nights and found temporary accommodation in an empty Airbnb property for the rest of this week, but face an uncertain future.

Mrs Scott’s mother Alison Sully has set up a GoFundMe page to help the family which has seen 48 donations in less than a week.

She said: “I know things are hard for a lot of people these days, but every little helps go a long way, so hoping for people’s kindness in this horrible situation.”