A single mum and her young son have been left with nothing after a fire ripped through their home and destroyed their belongings.
Megan Thomson and four-year-old Ellis have been forced to stay in a Travel Lodge since the devastating blaze ripped through their third floor flat on Clayhills Drive in Stirling last Thursday.
Luckily the pair were not at home when the fire took hold, with crews arriving soon after being alerted.
But smoke damage left the flat uninhabitable, with pictures from the kitchen, where the fire took hold, showing the devastating aftermath.
Megan, a self-employed eyelash technician, has been told the inferno is believed to have originated from the cooker.
Now the 23-year-old feels like she and Ellis, who has recently been diagnosed with autism, are 'back at square one' after spending hundreds of pounds making the flat into a home.
They have since been looking for new housing arrangements while relying on family members for support.
Speaking to the Record, Megan said: "All of our clothes are smoke damaged, we don’t have cooking facilities and we’re having to go to people’s house for meals.
"The kitchen is all black, it just looks like something out of a horror movie.
"Me and my wee boy were homeless when he was only six-months-old.
"Over the years I made the flat our home and spent everything I could on it. Now, we're homeless again and it just feels like we're back at square one."
Although out at the time, Megan's dog Pablo was caught up in the drama.
The four-month-old puppy was in the kitchen at the time and had to be rescued by Megan's hero partner Marc Findlay, 23.
Marc and the pooch were checked over by paramedics as a precaution, but thankfully neither required serious medical treatment.
Megan added: "My partner sometimes stays with me and he came in around 5:30pm.
"He heard the smoke alarm but didn't know where it was coming from until he started to get up near our door and saw the smoke.
"Our puppy was in the kitchen where the fire was and my partner rushed in and pulled him out before phoning me.
"He said it was pure black smoke inside.
"The full street was cordoned off, all the neighbours had come out, and there was just smoke coming out everywhere."
In a bid to help, a fundraiser has been launched to help Megan get back on her feet.
A message on the appeal, set up by Megan's pals, reads: "We thought this would be a good start to helping our girl Megan who has almost completely lost her home due to a fire.
"We are so saddened to hear her and her beautiful little boy's home has been ruined due to this.
"If anyone could help it would go a long way as Megan is having to start all over again on her own to fix a home she has spent years trying to get just how she wants it."
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "We were alerted at 5.17pm on Thursday, May 5 to reports of a house fire in Cambusbarron, near Stirling.
"Operations Control mobilised two appliances to the location at Clayhills Drive, where firefighters were met by a fire affecting a third floor flat.
"Crews extinguished the fire and worked to make the area safe before leaving the scene.
"One casualty was given a precautionary check-up on site by paramedics.
"Firefighters also provided oxygen therapy to a dog using a specialist Smokey Paws device."
You can donate to the fundraiser here.
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