'Losing our home while pregnant was a nightmare'

Stef and Bill Herrin welcomed their baby, Peregrine, on Thursday after losing their cottage in a fire

A couple whose home burned down as they were weeks from welcoming their first baby said it was "like a nightmare".

Stef and Bill Herrin were one of five families who lost their homes when a row of thatched cottages caught fire in Bardwell, Suffolk, on 19 April.

Mrs Herrin was eight months' pregnant at the time and the couple had just finished renovating their spare room into a nursery.

They welcomed their baby, named Peregrine, on Thursday and thanked the local community for the support they received over the past few weeks.

"We had just literally finished the nursery that week so we'd had people in to come and redecorate the spare bedroom and getting everything ready for the arrival of our baby," Mrs Herrin explained.

"Then we went out to Cambridge to family over the weekend and got a phone call from our neighbour saying that our house was on fire.

"It's been a really hard few weeks, but we're getting there and our baby has arrived, she's beautiful.

"It just changed everything really."

The couple were with their dog, Bali, in Cambridge when the house caught fire.

Residents attempted to put out the fire in the cottages on Easter Saturday

Mr and Mrs Herrin met at circus school and then spent 10 years travelling across the country and Europe together.

A few years ago they both retrained so they could "settle down" and buy their first home.

Mrs Herrin trained to be a secondary school dance teacher while Mr Herrin went on to become a forklift driver.

Mr and Mrs Herrin toured as part of the circus together for 10 years before settling down in Suffolk

Mrs Herrin trained as an aerialist in the circus

"We had managed to buy our beautiful thatched cottage in this wonderful village and wonderful county only to have it burnt down two years later," Mrs Herrin continued.

"In the space of getting that phone call, maybe an hour and a half later, it was completely gone.

"It was like a nightmare where you just think I'm going to wake up in a minute and it's going to be a terrible dream... but it was reality."

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said the cause of the fire was a hot ember from a chimney that ignited the dry thatch

The couple do not have family close by, but were supported by friends and the local community.

Bardwell Parish Council fundraised for the affected families and raised almost £30,000, while many people donated baby clothes and items to the couple.

The couple were also offered a home in the village to rent where they plan to stay for the next few years until their cottage is hopefully rebuilt.

"Without that support, without that community around us, we wouldn't be where we are now, settled enough to bring our baby home to a comfortable, safe, warm house," Mrs Herrin added.

"It'll definitely be a story to tell her once she gets a bit older."