I found our perfect family home had been destroyed by raging blaze - after returning from 25-minute school run

A devastated mum and her children have only got the "clothes on their backs” left after their home went up in flames - when she popped out to do the school run.

Katie-Anne Hone, 26, arrived home on October 18 to discover that her beloved flat in Orpington, southeast London, had been gutted by a blaze.

Firefighters said due to the risk of asbestos none of their belongings could be recovered so Kate - along with her three young children Lilly, three, Isabelle, five, and baby Archie - lost everything they owned.

The council told the family that the repairs will take up to 12 weeks. In the meantime, they are sleeping at a family member's house.

The firefighters said the damage was so bad that they couldn’t be certain what caused the blaze - but they have confirmed it was accidental. 

Kate had loved her flat and had supposedly spent years redecorating the place to make it perfect. The property was not insured, so the family will have to pay to replace all their belongings out of their own pocket. 

Kate’s mum, Michelle Hone, 51, said: “She [Kate] has been quite traumatised by it. She keeps saying ‘my kids haven’t even got a bed’. They have been sleeping in a spare bed, but they haven’t got a bed to call their own and that is really upsetting her.

“The kids don’t understand, they want to go home. They don’t know that their toys have all been ruined. Kate had literally what was on their backs, they didn’t even have a nappy or a bottle for the baby. 

“She was only out of the house for 25 minutes and it did that much damage.”

Kate’s aunt, Samantha Hone, has set up a GoFundMe page to help the family replace all their essential belongings. You can donate here.