A devastated Shropshire couple whose cottage was gutted by fire have spoken about how they lost everything – except each other.

Pete Sealey and Pauline Cass have lived in their thatched 16th century cottage in Onibury, near Craven Arms, for four years with their cat and free-range chickens.

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But on Saturday evening a fire broke out which destroyed their home and everything in it, even melting metal ladders.

Mr Sealey said they were still devastated and “pretty much” all their possessions from the past 20 years had been destroyed.

Miss Cass was inside the house when the blaze started and said everything happened in “seconds”.

She said: “A neighbour was here, just as I had noticed a crackling noise, which I now realise was the thatched roof burning.

“I was led to safety by Matt Connolly and grabbed the cat. The fire took such a hold and the fire brigade arrived and now we are here.”

Mr Sealey was out and drove to his partner “in shock”.

The couple said they left with the clothes on their backs and had to go and buy new ones.

Mr Sealey said: “We have had a lot of family members die at this time of year. Pauline’s sister died just a year a go at this time and we have had such bad luck recently.

“We are so paranoid about fire and checked everything regularly. Having an old property we had to satisfy a lot of criteria for the insurance.

“We checked the wiring, turned everything off, had every type of fire extinguisher, everything. Having a fire is pretty much our worst nightmare. I have lost everything except Pauline.”

Mr Sealey said the generosity of people around them had been overwhelming. He also thanked the firefighters for putting their lives at risk by tackling the fire and salvaging items.

Investigations are still ongoing to establish how the fire started. The house is still cordoned off and a security guard is manning it to make sure no-one enters it.

By Catherine Roche