Donations give woman hope after Rugby 'arson' attack

A five-year-old boy was critically injured in the house fire

A woman who fled a suspected arson attack with three children has said public donations give her "hope" she can rebuild their lives.

Relatives said the family was "left with nothing" following the blaze at the house in Rugby, Warwickshire, at 03.00 GMT, on 15 November.

A five-year-old boy is in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

A man, 21, held on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life has been released on bail.

Speaking on behalf of the woman, her auntie told the BBC: "It's given hope that people care and want to help her and want to help her rebuild her life again and the children's.

"They've got nothing. Nothing at all."

The woman, 28, who has not been named by Warwickshire Police, is still in hospital with burns to her legs, the relative added.

An eight-year-old girl and a boy, 10, have both been discharged.

Clothes and toys have been donated to the Benn Partnership Centre, a community hub in Rugby, to be given to the family.

Members of the community have been praised for their actions before the emergency services arrived

Centre director Sonia Johns said: "We've been absolutely overwhelmed by everything that has been given to us.

"We're still crying out for more donations. We're going to put together an itinerary of what we've got and what we still need.

"We always need more stuff, we have toys we have clothes but you can never have enough toiletries, we need furniture."

She said the centre needed to be strategic to ensure they "aren't duplicating things for the family and they are actually getting everything they actually need."

A JustGiving page set up to replace the children's Christmas presents burnt in the fire has raised more than £3,000.

Warwickshire Police said they were continuing to investigate the circumstances around the "suspicious" blaze.