THE community has rallied around a family devastated by a fire which heavily damaged their home in Queensbury on Monday.

The fire, which took place at the home of John and Sue Deakin on Ford Hill at 2.45pm, saw crews from four fire stations from the Bradford and Halifax area called to the scene to battle the blaze, which "fully involved" the kitchen on the lower ground floor of the house.

"The family are in a state of shock at the moment," said Mobeen Hussain, who works with Mrs Deakin at the We are Queensbury food bank.

"They're really shaken up," he said.

After We are Queensbury heard about the terrible news, they set up a GoFundMe page to help the couple recover from their ordeal.

A message on the page reads: "Our lovely friend and valued team member at We are Queensbury and her family are sadly the victims of the house fire in Queensbury.

"Sue is a volunteer and a highly thought of member of our team and a very special friend to many! 

"We here at We are Queensbury feel absolutely useless and truly don't know how else help except set up the fund to maybe help towards building back up there home ...if that is at all possible.

"They've lost their beloved pets too in this awful incident and we just want to show them some love and support.

"Please get behind us and show them some love after this heartbreaking event."

The page was set up last night but has already raised over £3,000.

"After it happened, we thought 'How as a community can we support one another'," said Mr Hussain.

"What an amazing response we've had.

"It warms my heart and makes me proud to be a Queensbury resident. It shows how we can all pull together."

One of ways the community is helping the Deakins is getting them a place to stay while they get back on their feet.

"A member of the community is letting them use a three-bedroom property for as long as they need it," said Mr Hussain.

"We want to do what we can to get them back do to normal life."

Because of the hard work Mrs Deakin does as a volunteer at the food bank, her colleagues there were keen to find a way to help she and her husband out

"She helps out immensely," said Mr Husssain, who runs the food bank. "She's like my right-hand man.

"She's one of those great community figures who helps out as much as she can."

Despite the fact it has recently been a full lockdown, Mr Hussain said Mrs Deakin has still been the "main person orchestrating things behind the scenes".

"She's done loads," he said. "She's a community champion, someone who I look up to and has helped out a lot.

"Whatever she needs, we're going to help her."

To make a donation to help the Deakins, visit gofundme.com/f/help-the-deakins?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer

* A spokesperson for the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said today: "The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing."