Thousands of pounds have been raised for a family left homeless days before Christmas.
The family were devastated after a fire ripped through their home earlier this week. Toni Shield was helpless when she returned home after being bombarded with phone calls on Wednesday night as her house on Craigside Avenue burnt to the ground.
The mum-of-two has now been blown away by the generosity of friends, family and strangers after a GoFundMe was set up yesterday, less than 24 hours after the blaze, which has already tripled the original goal of £1,000. The GoFundMe page said: "We are setting up this page for our good friend Toni.
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"Last night her family home went on fire due to an electrical fault. She had gone out to meet some friends and neighbours rang her to say her house was in flames. Thankfully no one was in the house and her two children aged five and 11 were at their Nan’s house.
"We are all absolutely devastated for her and want to help her rebuild her home, she has lost everything just four days before Christmas. We want to do everything we can to help them at this awful time and would really appreciate anything you can donate to help Toni and her family."
Despite Toni initially thinking the cause had been down to electricals, Merseyside Police confirmed earlier today (Friday, December 23) that detectives believe the fire may have been deliberate. The force released an appeal for information earlier today, with the amount of money being donated to Toni and her family continuing to rise.
The fundraiser has managed to raise an outstanding £4,145 at the time of writing. Toni spoke to the ECHO following the heartbreaking fire, with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service yet to confirm the official cause of the fire.
The 35-year-old, who has lived at the home for 14 years, said: "I weren't expecting anyone to do that [set up the GoFundMe] but my friends have done it.
"I don't expect nothing, I just want my home back basically. I can't really say anything because there's nothing to say, I'm just devastated.
"Every neighbour on my street rang my phone, it went mental and I just thought 'why is everyone ringing me? I don't understand'. Then to find out I've lost my home is the worst thing ever. I've got good neighbours and I've got good family. Everyone's caring about us."
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