Town Crier praises community spirit following fire at his home

FROME’S Town Crier, Mike Bishop has said a big thank you for all the help and support he’s received following a fire at his house earlier this month.

It’s been an emotional few days for Mike and his family, since a fire which started in his garden shed, destroyed part of his home.

Mike said, “I hadn’t long got in from work and I was in the kitchen making a coffee when I saw smoke coming from what I thought was behind the shed in the garden. I went outside and noticed it was coming from inside the shed. Stupidly I thought I could put it out with a watering can but it just made it worse and before I knew it, the whole shed was on fire.

“It destroyed the fence and quickly made its way to the patio doors. The glass in the doors smashed and the curtains caught alight. My immediate instinct was to pull the curtains from the rail and chuck them into the garden. I’ve been told that it was a stupid thing to do because I could have been injured, but a good thing at the same time because it stopped the whole house going up in flames.

“We are staying at a Premier Inn at the moment whilst they put they our house back together but there’s so much to do, I don’t know when it will be.

“We are so grateful to everyone who has helped us in the last couple of weeks, our neighbours have been brilliant and we couldn’t have got through this without them. It’s a testament to how amazing our community is.

“Although it’s been a traumatic experience, we are safe and well and that’s all that matters.”