More than £800 has been raised to help an Ayrshire couple whose lives were turned upside down by a house fire caused by their wood-burning stove on Boxing Day.

Andrew McDougall set up the GoFundMe to support his parents who have been left sofa surfing in the week between Christmas and New Year after the blaze caught the gable end of their home.

The source of the fire is understood to be from the professionally installed, five-year-old wood burning stove.

Andrew described what happened that night: “On Boxing Day 2021 myself, my kids and some extended family were visiting my parents for a quick bite to eat and a catch up.

“We were all really looking forward to it as the previous year had been much tougher due to the Covid-19 situation at the time.

“By some miracle, my mother, who is in her 60s, was out at the shed looking for something for one of the grandkids and smelled an unusual smoke only to realize a slight glow.

“Within minutes it was ablaze and there was no way to get to it.

“We quickly got everybody out of and away from the house and called the Fire Brigade who responded within 15-20 minutes but by this point the flames had done a fair bit of damage.”

Fire crews had to knock through two-bedroom walls and cut away much of the roof to contain the blaze as it begin to spread rapidly.

Andrew continued: “Somehow, much of their contents have been mostly undamaged but the building itself is going to need extensive inspection and repairing before they can live in it again and so it is looking like they will be living between hotels and friend’s houses for the foreseeable.

“My parents have spent their whole life working to afford this home and it has been our family home for going on 20 years now.

"The family are devastated especially with everything else going on right now.”

Andrew is now looking to raise over £1000 to support his parents who are currently staying in hotels whilst the damage is assessed.

He said: “We are all so grateful that it happened while everyone was awake and that nobody was harmed.

“But my parents are over at ours for dinner this evening and they look rattled and so I am writing this on GoFundMe in the hope that some of you out there that are able to could help out in any way you can.

“Whether it is the price of a coffee or more, any amount you can give them just to take the strain off while they hop between hotels.

“Thank you so much!”

You can donate to the appeal by visiting: https://www.gofundme.com/f/housefire-aid-for-my-parents