A fundraiser has been set up to help support a family whose house was destroyed by what is believed to have been an arson attack earlier this week (Monday). Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service was called to Sherbourne Avenue at around 23:45 last night (Sunday) to reports of a property alight. 3 appliances from Ryde and Newport were mobilised to the scene, with crews arriving to discover flames erupting from the front door, reaching up to the height of the roof. The semi-detached home has been significantly affected, with smoke damage evident on both the ground and 1st floors. The front door has been destroyed as have the windows with charred net curtains now flailing around in the wind. Luckily, no serious injuries occurred with 2 casualties treated for smoke inhalation before being passed into the care of the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service. As a result of their inquiries, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. Now, a work colleague has set up a GoFundMe page in a bid to support the displaced family. A message on the fundraising page has said:
“Our dear colleague Mandi Stafford and her family have been left in a terrible situation after an arson attack on their home in Binstead leaving the property in devastation.
We are raising funds to support Mandy and her family to get back on their feet after this disaster has struck.
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Anyone wishing to make a donation, can do so here. 
I for one , and likely the only one with so many nice but naive on here, would like to know why this property was targeted. For if it was anything to do with drugs, which is one major reason such warnings are carried out, then I would give nothing.
Please give us some more info.
How dare you have such negative opinions. You haven’t got the full story have you?…But oh so ready to assume the worst. If you don’t want to donate,then don’t.. simple.A working class family with insurance….come back from holiday…to this!!…
I know them and they are anti drugs !! They hate people that do them and they never would do them there selves so please don’t assume !!
Personally, from experience, I’d wait until a bit more is known about exactly what happened and why, and who the man arrested is and his relation to the family.
I donated to one of these Go Fun Me appeals several years ago, only for the full story to come out later, and it left me wishing I hadn’t given any money because the story which eventually emerged was certainly not the way it was represented at the time of the Go Fund Me appeal.
Sorry, but when you’ve been caught once, you get more wary the next time. Things aren’t necessarily always as straight-forward as they get portrayed.
I totally agree with that.
What about Home and Contents insurance?
Yes, that is precisey why we have house insurance…. ~£100 a year for a basic policy.
My heart goes out to the family, but whatever happened to
taking out insurance , it’s what folk do.
Ever tried getting money out of an insurance company? Takes months
Why was it targeted in the first place?
Is this social housing,or privately owned.
Either way any costs are covered by the housing association or your own insurance
Gofundme is just begging and like every other so called charity , someone is making a profit from it.
This was a random attack and he also tried to set fire to another property over the road but that’s not all folks… the guys on bail so well done Hampshire police for allowing someone who could end up killing someone or a family by setting their house on fire, the police system in this country is a disgrace honestly
Completely agree with you
The police system is a disgrace