Doncaster mum and three year old son escape suspected arson attack

A Doncaster woman and her son were lucky to escape without injury when a suspected arson attack destroyed part of their home.
Claire Bevan and son Noah were lucky to escape unharmed after a fire at their Balby house.Claire Bevan and son Noah were lucky to escape unharmed after a fire at their Balby house.
Claire Bevan and son Noah were lucky to escape unharmed after a fire at their Balby house.

Balby resident Claire Bevan said she and three-year-old son Noah could have been seriously hurt or killed when the blaze took hold in the early hours of the morning.

The 25-year-old had returned home at about 2.40am after a night out while her dad babysat for Noah.

Claire Bevan and son Noah were lucky to escape unharmed after a fire at their Balby house.Claire Bevan and son Noah were lucky to escape unharmed after a fire at their Balby house.
Claire Bevan and son Noah were lucky to escape unharmed after a fire at their Balby house.
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She said the fire broke out at their home, on Anelay Road, less than 10 minutes after she returned home.

A neighbour alerted her to the fire and rang the authorities.

The fire damaged Miss Bevan’s utility room, with a washer-dryer and freezer damaged beyond repair.

There was extensive damage to the back garden and the exterior piping on the house has been badly burned.

Claire Bevan and son Noah were lucky to escape unharmed after a fire at their Balby house.Claire Bevan and son Noah were lucky to escape unharmed after a fire at their Balby house.
Claire Bevan and son Noah were lucky to escape unharmed after a fire at their Balby house.

Noah lost toys in the blaze and fencing was damaged.

But Miss Bevan said it could have been so much worse.

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“They said it was minutes away from setting the boiler on fire, and that would have blown up the street,” she said.

Miss Bevan said she can’t afford time off work from her job at a local petrol station and she is worried for her and Noah’s future.

They have moved in with relatives.

Miss Bevan said that she was still in shock after the fire.

“The hardest bit is having to explain to Noah we haven’t got a home any more,” she said.

The support they have received from generous neighbours has been ‘amazing’, she said.

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“A neighbour even fed me and Noah after it happened,” she said.

“I generally keep myself to myself, until this happened.

“They have been really supportive and said they will help me get my house sorted on the inside when we do get back into it.

“I’m trying to get some kind of normality back for Noah’s sake by still taking him to nursery and me going back to work.”