THE story of the fire in The Crapen, Cam, reported in last week’s Gazette, came as terrible news to readers in the community.

The couple – along with their five cats and a dog – lost, effectively, everything they own due to smoke - from furniture and utilities to clothing.

One neighbour described the interior of the home as being covered in a black layer, rendering almost everything in need of removal.

In the short space of a week, however, one can see how such devastating news can be transformed into something positive.

Those living in the area close to the home have rallied together in support of the couple and their efforts have been nothing short of extraordinary.

When a Gazette reporter visited the area the day after the fire they found that a collection to help Pete and Maureen Poole had already raised £250 – and that isn’t including money from the collection pots that had been placed in three local businesses.

Occasionally terrible things like the fire in question will strike us or our neighbours. These unfortunate accidents have the effect of throwing us into despair and disarray.

If any of us have a safety net of support from our neighbours and the surrounding community, in the way the Pooles did, we should be endlessly thankful.

This is a couple who were described as the type of people that would “do anything for anybody”. It’s good to see that when they were in need the roles were reversed accordingly.

It is just this kind of community spirit that should be cherished.