A 63-year-old Blaenffos woman whose home was badly damaged by fire has said a huge ‘thank you’ to those who have helped get her back on her feet.

Jeanette John saw fire rip through the roof of her 124-year-old Rose Cottage home back in June, destroying much of the upstairs and causing thousands of pounds of damage.

She has since been forced to live in two rooms downstairs with her beloved cats following the blaze, initially without water and electricity, while repairs were carried out.

A Facebook appeal was launched to help fund the work as she was not insured.

Now, three months later, the repairs have been completed and Jeanette has issued a heartfelt thanks to those who rallied round.

“I cannot thank builder Steve Edwards and his team enough as they have done all they can to get it done as quickly as possible,” said a grateful Jeanette.

“They have made such an effort to get me my home back. The weather has not been great at times and I feared it would be Christmas before it was all sorted and my health was suffering but they have done a great job.”

Much of the upstairs and many of her possessions were destroyed in the fire, although the bathroom was saved which helped reduce the rebuilding costs.

Her son chipped in with a big donation, while the Facebook appeal raised several thousand pounds from complete strangers. That included a donation of £1,000 from Llechryd RAF war veteran John Armstrong, who turned up on her doorstep with his offer of help.

“I would like to say ‘thank you’ to all those who contributed to the appeal and also my neighbours in the village who have been so kind to me in the past few months,” added Jeanette.

“I am just in the process of unpacking stuff and only now am I realising how much I actually lost with the smoke and water damage as well.

“I am thrilled to bits to finally have my house back and am looking forward to try to get back to normal.”