A BLAENFFOS woman whose home was badly damaged in a fire has thanked the emergency services for ensuring the blaze did not spread further.

Jeanette John’s home at Rose Cottage, on the main A487 road through the village, suffered damage to the roof and upstairs rooms after fire broke out at around 2pm on Wednesday, June 14.

“I was in the back garden and thought I could smell smoke but thought it was someone having a bonfire or barbecue,” said Mrs John, 63, who has lived at the house for 17 years and originally comes from Canada.

“I then looked up and thought ‘oh my god, the house is on fire’. Smoke was pouring from the roof and I could not believe it.

“I had only seen what had happened to those poor people in the block of flats in London that same morning and thought how horrific that must be and here it was happening to me.”

Mrs John called the fire service but raced inside to rescue her six pet cats. Five are now safe and well but one, a 16-year-old called Paddypaws, ran off and has not been seen since.

“The fire service were here very quickly and I am so grateful but I never had a chance to say thank you for what they did,” said Mrs John, who is not insured and is currently having to struggle on with no water or electricity and is relying on the generosity of her neighbours.

“Most of the upstairs is ruined because of the smoke and water used to put out the fire. It’s heart-breaking and I fear I am going to have to throw out so much stuff,” she added.

Fire crews from Crymych, Cardigan, Newcastle Emlyn and an aerial appliance from Haverfordwest were all called to the blaze, with the main road between Cardigan and Tenby closed for around four hours.