Victim 'gutted' by house blaze

A woman who was rescued from a burning Shropshire building said she has "lost everything" after her home was "destroyed".

Firefighters rescued Laura Smith, 20, from the first floor bedroom of the burning house in Severn Terrace, off Smithfield Road, at 3am yesterday.

Her brother, Sam, 18, had already jumped through a window to escape from the flames.

Fire investigators and police forensic squads have since been carrying out a thorough search of the premises to determine the cause of the fire.

Miss Smith, who works at Nando's restaurant, in Old Potts Way, in Shrewsbury, said she was exhausted but now had a huge amount to sort out.

She said: "I have been round the back of the house for the first time and everything is destroyed. I'm absolutely gutted. I have no idea what started it, but everything looks like it's destroyed.

"The firemen and police have boarded everything up. My brother is still in hospital with a broken wrist and injuries to his back, but he is in a stable condition."

John Das Gupta, area manager for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "It's too early to say what caused the fire. We have had a couple of fire investigators at the scene working closely with the police forensic squad."