Kind-hearted Dundonians have rallied round a family who were left with “just the clothes on their backs” after a blaze ripped through their home.
Sheryl Chaplin, 32, and her two children have been forced to stay in a homeless shelter since the fire at their Happyhillock Road house.
Authorities believe the incident was caused by an unattended chip pan, with no injuries sustained as there was no one in the house.
Now Dundonians have moved to help Sheryl and her children, Aiden, 9, and Amber, 11, by donating clothes, shoes, toiletries and children’s toys at a Togs for Tots event at the weekend.
The group’s founder, Jordan Butler, said she was proud of the amount Dundonians had given.
She said: “It has been such a great response from the people of Dundee.
“We’ve collected enough clothes for them to have a whole new wardrobe, as well as toys and DVDs. Even people that didn’t have any clothes to donate still came round and gave cash for the family.”
The donations came after Ms Chaplin said her family had “everything destroyed” in the blaze.
She added: “I managed to grab a few items of clothing and a couple of photographs, but that’s it.
“Most of our clothes were burned or ruined by the smoke. My daughter only has the clothes on her back, the ones she was wearing when the fire happened.
“My son only has an old pair of tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt.
“I’m not sure what will happen next. We lived in a council house, so we’ll have to see what the council says.
“I’m trying to carry on as normal and make the best out of our situation.
“The kids are coping remarkably well, they’ve been very brave throughout all this.”
Ms Chaplin first discovered the fire when she came back from the shops at about 3.50pm, after leaving the house 25 minutes earlier.
At first it was a small fire in the kitchen, and she turned off the electricity before calling the fire brigade.
A Dundee City Council spokeswoman said: “We will be assessing the damage and discussing a long-term solution with the tenant.”