A musician who was lucky to escape with his life when his touring caravan caught fire on Boxing Day has expressed his gratitude to the friends and neighbours who have supported him since the blaze.

Kerne Spiralson, of Cwmpencraig near Newcastle Emlyn, lost everything in the blaze, including all his musical equipment and drawings of friends. .

Since the fire, the rapper and singer, who goes by the stage name M-Power, believes a chip pan fire was to blame.

“I’d been working really hard in Carmarthen in the run up to Christmas and I was really tired," said the 23-year-old, who performs all over the UK.

"The night before Boxing Day I went to a small party and came home and popped the chip pan on for some food.

"I fell asleep and the next thing I remember was waking to seeing thick black smoke.

"I jumped out of the caravan window and was helped by neighbours.

"The caravan was like a furnace.

“I was completely shocked and I’m devastated."

Kerne, whose I Am M-Power was released on Spotify and Itunes last year. had lived in the caravan for the past year, but witnessed his home and belongings disappear before his eyes.

"Within 15 minutes, all that was left of the caravan was the chassis," he said.

"A friend of mine quickly moved the propane gas bottle away from the fire otherwise there would have been quite an explosion.

"It was a hit of reality.”

To date, the funding page set up to help Kerne has raised more than £1,000 in just two weeks.

“I’m really shocked that so much money has been raised and I’ll use it to get back on my feet," he said.

"I lost my clothes, cooking equipment, camera, driving licence, passport, keys, my helmet – everything.

"I’ll use the money raised to buy the essentials and my music equipment destroyed by the fire.

"I can then concentrate on getting my new album out there."

Kerne urged everyone to be vigilant when it comes to chip pans.

“Fire is something to be respected," he said.

"Static caravans are slightly different to touring ones.

"That’s all you have is a thin layer of polystyrene and wood and these two are lethal combinations and when they melt, it’s just a disaster and they quickly catch fire."