Jedburgh townsfolk support fundraising appeal after family lose home in blaze

Gillian Scott’s upper-floor family home in the Headrig was engulfed in flames believed caused by an electrical fault at around 2.30am last Friday.

And while she and her children and dog were unharmed, the same cannot be said for their belongings.

But thanks to generous townsfolk a fundraising drive to support the mum of four has raised more than £2,000 in under a week.

Shelley Dickson, a family friend, set up the JustGiving page online, and she said: “The kids, mum and dog all luckily got out and are ok health-wise.

“However, the house is completely burnt out. All their clothes, personal belongings, furniture – everything – are gone.

“We would like to raise some money for her to try and sort things out, especially at this time of year.

“With it being so close to Christmas, hopefully we can help get this family back on their feet.

“They don’t have anything to fall back on at all.

“If you have any unwanted furniture, clothes or anything that can help, please just know it will not go un noticed.

“Every single penny helps, and it would mean the world to them.”

Since the launch of that appeal, donations and offers of help have flooded in.

Those pledging help include some of the firefighters called out to tackle the blaze, and they are lining up a fundraising car wash this weekend at their station at the Pleasance.

A Jedburgh fire station spokesman said: “Most of the local community will be aware of the fire that happened at Gillian Scott’s house.

“Thankfully, nobody was seriously injured and, although a lot of personal belongings have been lost, we know the good old town of Jed will rally around to support them and get them back on their feet.

“With this in mind, we will be running a carwash at the fire station on Saturday between 9am and 12pm.”

Three fire engines tackled the fire through the night, and investigators remained at the house well into the afternoon trying to establish the cause of the blaze.

Police later confirmed the fire was non-suspicious.

A police spokesman said: “Police received report of a fire at an address on Headrig in Jedburgh around 2.50am on Friday, November 22.

“An adult and a child were taken to Borders General Hospital as a precaution. There were no injuries.

“This was an electrical fire, non-suspicious, and there is no further police involvement.”

Go to www.justgiving.
com/crowdfunding/shelley-
dickson to help.