A FUNDRAISER has been set up by a friend of the Denbighshire family who “lost everything” in a house fire over the weekend.

Fire crews from Corwen, Denbigh, Mold, Ruthin and Wrexham were called to Pwllglas, near Ruthin at 4.15pm on Sunday after two properties had caught fire.

According to North Wales Fire and Rescue, the blaze caused “100% fire damage to the roof and first floor of one of the properties, as well as 100% water and smoke damage to ground floor”.

As well as this, it had also “caused 100% fire damage to a shed” at the rear of a second property, as well as 10% fire damage to the external fittings of the house and 20% smoke damage to the ground floor.

The family affected by the damage done to the first house was that of Janine Cusworth’s who said: “All I can say at this moment in time is that we have lost everything and that we are absolutely devastated.”

To help Janine, her husband Paul and their children Elysia, 16, Connor, 14, and Lauren, 10, close friend Blanca Barranco has set up a GoFundMe page, which has so far collected £400 at the time of writing.

Blanca, who first met Janine when they were taking Welsh classes together at Llysfasi College, said: “They are the loveliest of people, who have made a great effort to fit into the Welsh community here.

Janine, who only moved to the area from Teeside last July says the support already shown by the local community has been “incredible”.

This backing shown for the Cusworth's has also been displayed on a Facebook group called 'House Fire in Pwllglas'.

On there, people have been donating several items, including clothing for all members of the family. They have also come together in attempts to gather resources to help 16-year-old Elysia continue her love of embroidering and textile art after she lost all of her work in the fire.

Fundraiser Blanca Barranco said: "Elysia was going to start doing exhibitions soon, despite her ME condition and suffering from chronic pain, she’s a hard working, very talented teenager.

"The whole family really are amazing people, and that’s why I’m setting up this page to help them, as their network isn’t that big yet, having moved to the area less than 12 months ago .

"Neighbours have been a great help so far offering accommodation, plus goods and other essential items. But even when the insurance company sorts everything out, it’ll be hard to cover for all the items lost.

"I know these are difficult times on top of currently being hit by the financial wave of this horrible virus, with some of us not getting any income or very low. But if anyone could help with some items and/or money, it would be great.

To donate, visit: www.gofundme.com/f/house-fire-in-pwllglas