A mother has told how she held her daughter out of an upstairs window as she rescued her from a house fire a month ago that has left them homeless.

Lois Edwards and her three-year-old daughter Lilliana lost their home on York Street in Oswestry when fire ripped through the building just before Christmas.

Since then, Lois and Lilliana have been living in a hotel and are still waiting to be moved into another house by Shropshire Council.

To make matters worse, Ms Edwards spent Christmas in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19.

“It’s still no good," she said. “I’ve got no house and I still have flashbacks and different things.

“I’ve been in the Premier Inn, in one room, for up to four weeks with my 14-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.

“We’ve got no normality of routine. It feels like it is never ending.”

Both the night of the house fire and the current situation have had a dreadful impact on her daughter.

Ms Edwards said: “She’s very clingy and doesn’t want to leave her or her dad’s side.

“She goes on about it all the time. There’s a lot of shock and still lots of things we haven’t got over from it.

“We’ve tried to get a new home and still haven’t got that.

“There’s no signs of anything so we’ve just got lots of time to think.”

While the family continues suffer in the aftermath of the fire, they have taken some comfort from the support provided by the local community, as well as online competitions company Wizard Competitions.

Ms Edwards spoke positively about the firefighters from Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service because of their rapid response and quick arrival on the scene.

"I just woke up to my room full of smoke and the smoke alarm was going off, so I opened my front door," Ms Edwards added.

"I couldn't see anything apart from flames so I shut the door.

"I grabbed my little girl out of bed and my phone and hung her out the window while I was speaking to the fire people on the phone.

“The firefighters have been absolutely fantastic. They took four minutes to get to me. They weren’t long at all."

When people in the neighbourhood heard about the fire, they were quick to provide food and clothing for both Lois and her daughter.

It provided some comfort after the devastation Lois and her daughter have faced.

“The community have been absolutely fantastic," said Lois.

“They have helped with different things for myself and children.

“Many have provided clothes for my daughter.

“The staff at the George Pub were fantastic as they brought my daughter a huge sack full of presents,” Lois added.