Musicians' appeal after fire destroys instruments

Katie Malco with her first ever guitar which her mum bought for her when she was 14 and was in the unit when the fire broke out

A fundraiser has been set up to replace a group of musicians' instruments and equipment after much of it was destroyed in an industrial blaze.

Katie Malco was one of several musicians who used a unit at the Hastingwood Industrial Park near Fort Dunlop, Birmingham, for rehearsal space and to store equipment.

Most of this was severely damaged or destroyed after a huge fire broke out on the floor above their unit on 17 July.

The fundraiser has raised more than £8,600 so far and Miss Malco said the musicians were "really touched" by the generosity.

More than 100 firefighters tackled the blaze at the Hastingwood Industrial Park near Fort Dunlop in Birmingham

Ms Malco, from Sutton Coldfield, was on holiday in Spain when the fire broke out and kept in contact with her fellow musicians on WhatsApp.

Two of them rushed to the scene and were told by firefighters that the building was going to be pulled down.

"I just cried my eyes out," Ms Malco told the BBC.

"It's not just the money, it's the sentiment with those guitars. It's all the guitars I've ever known.

"My first ever guitar was in there - my mum bought it for me and I’ve had it since I was 14.

"I cried my eyes out when I heard the news that it might be gone forever.

"As it stands it is heavily damaged and in need of repair."

Ms Malco playing at a festival just a few days before the fire

Firefighters told the musicians they could be escorted into the building and would have two minutes to rescue as many of their instruments and equipment as possible - including Ms Malco's first guitar.

Everything that was rescued had suffered water damage from attempts to fight the fire as the water was at knee level when they entered the unit.

An unexpected difficulty was people at the scene running into the unit and taking some of the equipment which they loaded into vans, Ms Malco said.

However others at the scene challenged them and got the equipment back out of the vans.

"I felt really helpless and bad for not being there to help," she added.

As they were renting the space, they did not have contents insurance for the instruments, she said.

Ms Malco set up the fundraiser in an attempt to put a dent in the cost of replacing the instruments and equipment, hoping they might raise £1,000.

"We were not expecting to meet that target," the 38-year-old said.

"I can't believe it. To get that money in 24 hours, I'm honestly in disbelief."