Northampton grandmother’s postponed Christmas Day ruined by house fire days after two flooding incidents

A Northampton grandmother has been left devastated after two incidents of flooding followed by a house fire ruined her postponed Christmas Day.

Margaret Hutt, from Lings, had planned to hold Christmas dinner for her family on August 1 after festivities had to be postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic.

However, in the weeks leading up to the occasion, the 72-year-old’s home, which she shares with her 10-year-old granddaughter who she looks after full-time, flooded twice when the county was battered by downpours, leaving her carpet soaked through and in desperate need of replacing.

The devastated nan said: “On Tuesday (July 20), there was water everywhere and you couldn’t see my front garden because of it.

“I was with my neighbours at the time and I only had my front door key so I couldn’t get back into my home until the water had gone from my front door.

“The carpet was absolutely soaked.

“Then the following Wednesday (July 28), it happened again.

“The second time around, all the carpet was taken up and I claimed on my house insurance to get it replaced.

“The carpet was the main thing to be damaged.”

Not to be deterred, Maggie ploughed on with organising her family’s Christmas dinner as she had been so looking forward to finally celebrating the festivities.

But on the day of the rearranged Christmas, Maggie’s top oven, which she had not used before, caught fire.

She added: “I had laid the table and decorated it nicely with Christmas bits and my daughter had come round to help cook.

“The smoke alarm started going off so we waved a towel around it, but it kept going so we opened the top oven and smoke bellowed out. Then that turned into flames.

“The flames took hold of two cupboards.

“My neighbour came in with a fire extinguisher and put the fire out, luckily, else I don’t think my house would be standing today.

“I was really looking forward to our Christmas Day, but it was ruined.”

Following on from the fire, Maggie and her granddaughter had to move out of their home temporarily due to the smoke.

The house is now livable and they have moved back, but one of the two burned cupboards needs replacing, as does the oven, and Maggie says the whole house needs repainting due to the smoke damage.

Maggie has also suffered with a chest infection following the incident, which she says has worsened her COPD.

To help Maggie get back on her feet and make her house a home again, another of her granddaughters has set up an online fundraising page, which Maggie says is ‘lovely’ and a ‘really nice gesture’ as the chain of events have left her feeling ‘not great at all’.

Maggie’s granddaughter describes her as ‘selfless’ and says she ‘never asks for anything in return for everything she does for others’, so she is hoping members of the community will support the fundraiser and put a smile on her nan’s face once again.

To donate, visit the GoFundMe page here.