Flames tore through the back of the couple’s home in Arnold, Nottinghamshire (Image: SWNS)
A couple have told of their horror after part of their home was destroyed in a devastating blaze that spread when artificial grass caught fire. Shaun Whyatt and his partner Jenn Barnet have been left with a £15,000 repair bill after embers from a fire bin ignited their fake turf.
Flames tore through the back of their home in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, in the early hours of May 7 after Shaun had been burning letters in the back garden. The security worker had poured water over the fire bin, believing it had extinguished the flames. But embers had escaped from small holes in the fire bin, igniting their £1,000 plastic lawn.
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A neighbour managed to wake the couple who escaped with their cats (Image: SWNS)
The flames spread to their house and the couple were only alerted to the blaze when a neighbour banged on their door in the early hours. Luckily, the couple managed to escape, along with their two cats.
Shaun, 57, said: “I went downstairs to see black smoke and flames all up the wall. We couldn’t believe it. If it wasn’t for our neighbours, we wouldn’t be here now. I’d never met her before. I fell to my knees and I cried.”
He said the grass next door charred slightly and he believed this was because it is real so that probably helped to dampen it.
Shaun added: “But ours has completely melted. It wasn’t a cheap one – it was the top-quality artificial grass. It had melted the back windows, which we couldn’t believe. And it’s left all our back rooms black.”
He said: “Ironically the actual bin that helped cause this isn’t even charred.”
Shaun and Jenn say they now regret getting the fake turf (Image: SWNS)
Damage was done to fencing, decking, a shed, the the tools inside it and all the house’s rear windows. Jenn and Shaun say they are now living on microwave meals as they raise funds to cover the repair costs.
The couple weren’t covered for the incident as Jenn had changed her bank account and mistakenly thought she had updated her insurance company. This led to two missed payments, causing the policy to cancel at the time of the fire.
Shaun said: “Eighteen months ago Jenn’s dad passed away so it’s been quite a toll on her. We were so lucky our neighbour was on it. It’s reinstated my faith in humanity – we’ve never met them but they saved our life.”
Jenn, 53, a trained nurse, said she had spent £1,000 installing the artificial lawn 10 years ago but says she now regrets it. She said: “I do most definitely regret getting it. I’ll never ever go near fake grass ever again in my life.
“We thought it looked nice and it was easy. We opted for it because I’ve got arthritis and I can’t use a lawn mower. That’s changed now. I’m going to have to put myself through the pain and use a mower because there’s no way we’re having that again.”
A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Firefighters from Arnold, Carlton and Stockhill fire stations attended a fire on Thursday, May 7 following a call to Cornell Drive, Arnold, at 3.08am.
“The fire had started in the garden which had spread to the house. Firefighters used breathing apparatus and a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire.”