A FAMILY who were forced to move out of their Wharton home after an arson attack last month, say their world has been turned upside down.

Daniel Tideswell and Kelly Lydon were at home in Wharton Bridge on May 15 with their daughter, Milly, when arsonists set fire to their shed at 1am.

The fire quickly spread to the house, leaving six-year-old Milly to wake up to a ‘wall of fire’ at her bedroom window.

“It got to her window first and she woke up with her whole window covered in flames,” said 32-year-old Daniel.

The family has spent the past month living out of bags and trying desperately to provide some comfort to their traumatised child.

With the family renting from Your Housing Group, they were told by the company that the house was not safe, and repair work was needed on the roof, fascias and kitchen.

They were offered to be put in a hotel while imminent repairs were made, but chose instead to live between both Daniel and Kelly’s parents’ houses in Winnington and Barnton.

Daniel said: “We had surveyors come out and say they would get it done as soon as possible, but it’s now four weeks on and the work hasn’t even been started.

“I went back to the house to pick up some things and someone had been sent out to work on next door, which is unoccupied. We were then sent letters asking for rent, and we’re not even living there. I rang up to query it and they didn’t have any record of there even being a fire.

“It’s a mess and we just don’t know what to do. It’s really getting to us.”

Paul Stanners, service manager at Your Housing Group, told the Guardian that the company aims to get the work finished by next week.

He said: “The safety of our customers is paramount, and our role is to ensure families are rehomed as soon as possible in situations like this.

“We offered alternative accommodation to the family while our contractors worked on repairs and this work is due to complete on June 22 for the family to return then.

“We recognise this has been a stressful and frustrating time for the family and we’re sorry that communication hasn’t been more clear. We have waived their rent for six weeks and will meet with the family to discuss their concerns.”