A doorbell camera captured the moment a family fled for their lives as a wildfire spread to their home in Stourbridge, West Midlands. The footage showed terrified mum Rose-Anne Vinten racing through her garden moments before flames engulfed her house.
Family's escape and loss
Rose-Anne, her nine-year-old daughter Robyn, and her 11-year-old son Roman had to flee as flames and smoke spread to the property. The family had lived in the house for only five months and said they have now 'lost everything' in what was supposed to be their 'forever home'.
Around 30 homes were destroyed in the wildfire, while dozens more were left damaged. Witnesses compared the scenes to those in a war film. The Vinten family are now staying in a hotel while they await news from their insurance company.
Mother's account
Rose-Anne told ITV: "It was really scary. I knew at the same time I needed to be brave for my kids, because my daughter was really worried. When I went over to next door and saw them just standing there at the window, looking and they could see that their house was on fire, so I had to just hold it all in. I couldn't cry or anything."
Husband Richard, who was out at the time, saw photographs of neighbouring houses on social media but remained unaware of the full scale of devastation until his return. He told the Worcester News: "It's heartbreaking, we'd only been there for five months. It's our forever home and it's gone. We knew the damage would be bad, but it was so surreal yesterday that the reality didn't really hit us. I was doomscrolling all night and when we saw a photo of our house, it was just devastating. It's been completely gutted. We've lost everything."
Spread and response
The blaze started in a nearby popular children's park before rapidly spreading across grassland and ripping through adjacent properties. Six homes were destroyed and approximately 50 residents were forced to evacuate during the fire.
The West Midlands ambulance service confirmed that paramedics treated 54 patients across the region as a result of the wildfires, with 19 requiring hospital treatment. Visiting Stourbridge, Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the country as a 'tinderbox right now', warning that the weekend ahead could prove extremely challenging. The government has since imposed a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues and issued an alert over wildfires to millions of people's phones.
