Lucky escape

After fire forced a postman and his family out of their home, our in-house charity the Rowland Hill Fund stepped in to help them get back on their feet.

Martin Bone has worked at Great Yarmouth Delivery Office since 2002 and lives nearby with his wife, Kellie, and their two children, Alan and Sara.

The family and their two West Highland terriers were all at home one Sunday morning in February when Kellie noticed smoke coming from their shower unit as she washed her hair.

‘I was in the kitchen when she came down and said there was smoke,’ said Martin. ‘She went back up to check on it and by then the whole unit had caught alight. Luckily, we managed to get the bathroom door shut and get everyone out, then call the fire brigade.

'If it wasn’t for that door, we could have lost the whole house.’

Fortunately, the family and dogs all escaped unharmed, but the extensive damage to the bathroom meant they had to move into nearby hotel accommodation.

‘The stress we were under was phenomenal. We kept having to move hotels and were forced to eat at restaurants in the evenings. It wasn’t long before we got behind on our mortgage,’ said Martin.

The continuous moving was made more difficult by the fact that Martin has mobility issues and walks with a stick.

The family weren’t able to return to their home for two months and are still replacing all the contents they lost to this day.

Martin called the Fund, which was happy to help the family by contributing £2,000 towards the mortgage.

‘It was great that the Fund was able to step in, and my colleagues and the CWU have all been fantastic as well,’ he said.

Could you benefit?

The Rowland Hill Fund offers help to colleagues, Royal Mail Group pensioners and their immediate families with financial and practical support.

It can provide help towards the following things:

• Rent
• Mortgage and utility bill arrears
• Disability aids
• Home modifications
• Hospital travelling expenses
• Funeral expenses
• White goods, heating/boiler repairs and much more.

For more information, call 0345 600 4586. The service is free, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and all calls are completely confidential. 

Alternatively, you can visit the Rowland Hill Fund website, check out the Fund's Facebook page or follow them on Twitter.