Two fundraising pages have been set up to help families whose homes were damaged by a major fire in the Harrogate district in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The blaze began in a semi-detached house in Minskip and caused 100% fire damage to the first floor and smoke damage throughout.

The neighbouring property is also reported to have extensive smoke and fire damage.

People are rallying round to support the two families, so far raising almost £7,000 to go towards new furniture and appliances.

Two gofundme pages have been set up. The first was set up on Sunday by a friend of the owner of the house where the fire started, and has already raised £6,633.

The second was set up yesterday for the neighbour who has had to throw away a lot of belongings.

Both families are currently living elsewhere but are in need of donations to replace lost items.

Numerous posts have been made on local Facebook groups to encourage donations and people have offered bedding, children's clothing and some furniture.

---

Read more:

• A deliberate fire started in Knaresborough becomes one of many locally in recent weeks


• Two friends have raised £1,500 after shaving their heads for Macmillan

---

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service sent three crews to the address on Roecliffe Drive just after 1am Sunday morning.

It believed the fire was caused by a candle in one of the bedrooms, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Nobody was injured but the fire left the home in which it started uninhabitable.

A spokeswoman for the fire service told the Stray Ferret it was fortunate nobody was hurt.

Minskip is about a mile from Boroughbridge.