A fundraising page has seen more than £2,500 donated for a family whose home was hit by fire just days before Christmas.

The GoFundMe page was set up for Louise Buxton, a nurse at the Orthopaedic Hospital in Gobowen, following the blaze which struck while she was at work on December 21.

An initial target of £500 was set but this was quickly surpassed with more than 160 donations received in the first week.

Emma Morgan, her colleague on Ludlow Ward, who set up the page, explained how Louise had been working while her partner was out and returned to find the front of their home had been “completely destroyed”.

Devastatingly, Louise’s dog Jasper died in the fire.

She continued: “We all on Ludlow are absolutely devastated, anytime of the year is bad enough but for something like this to happen so close to Christmas is heartbreaking, they have lost so much that can’t be replaced.

“We are setting up a page to donate money to Louise and her partner we know it’s a tough time of year for everyone it if you could find it in your heart to send anything to help a family in need we would really appreciate it.”

To make a donation visit www.gofundme.com/help-louise-at-a-time-in-need