MORE than a hundred people have rallied round and raised thousands of pounds for a Powys woman whose off-grid home burnt to the ground last month.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, lives in a yurt near Nant Glas, between Rhayader and Llandrindod Wells.

She was thankfully not home when it was engulfed by the fire in mid-September. But she lost everything, including treasured family photos of her late brother and father.

The woman almost lost her beloved cat, Shwmae, too, but he miraculously reappeared in a video she captured of the destruction and which was then posted to YouTube by her son, Davin Jones.

Davin also set up a fundraiser in hopes of helping his mum get back on her feet, and people have responded in their droves.

More than 120 people have donated, raising almost £4,500, with work on his mum’s new home having already begun.

“Dear friends of Llandrindod, I wanted to spread this message and fundraiser on this group to see if any of you can help,” Davin said in a September 22 post that was shared to the popular Llandrindod Solutions Facebook page.

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“My mother’s home was burnt to the ground last weekend. My mum lives off-grid in a modest yurt in Mid Wales. Everything she owns was in this yurt. All of her personal belongings are no more.

“The loss of certain belongings like family photos of her late brother and father are lost for good. This I'm sure will be very difficult to bear.

“Thankfully, my mother was not at home when the fire started so she is safe and sound.”

Shwmae was feared to have perished in the fire, but he returned to the smouldering wreck to bring Davin’s mum some small comfort. “Thankfully, Shwmae had escaped and is now safe with my mum,” he added.

County Times: A cardboard scale model of the new yurt. A cardboard scale model of the new yurt. (Image: Davin Jones)

“The funds raised from this gofundme fundraiser will hopefully cover the cost of building my mother a brand new yurt and equipping the yurt with new kitchen appliances, a bank of batteries for her solar panels and furniture to create a comfortable home for my mother once again.

“I hope this fundraiser can heal some of the damage that this devastation has caused. Even if this is simply a kind message it is going to help.”

In a new Facebook post on Monday (October 16) Davin thanked everyone for their contributions and informed followers that work on the new yurt had already begun.

“A massive thank you to all those that have donated and sent supporting messages in raising funds for building my mum a new home,” he said, posting alongside pictures of home-made scale model designs of what his mum’s new home could look like.

Davin’s fundraiser remains open. If you’d like to contribute, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/raise-funds-for-mothers-new-yurt.