WHEATFIELD Court, the Callow End house destroyed by fire in the early hours of Good Friday, making 30 people homeless, was not insured.

Owner Tim Billingham, of Graham Road, Malvern, said the £500,000 property, which had been divided into small flats for rent, was not insured "because of the nature of the clientele."

Many of the tenants were single people, both working and unemployed, including some elderly or vulnerable people receiving help from social services.

Insurance of their belongings was the responsibility of individual tenants, but Mr Billingham said he doubted whether any of them had this cover.

"I have suffered an enormous financial loss, but some of the people there have lost everything they possessed," he said.

The building is now in a dangerous condition, part having been totally destroyed.

"We are awaiting the report of a structural engineer and the future of the property will depend on that report and on what the local planning authority will allow us to do," said Mr Billingham.

He said he was hoping the site would be available for re-development, possibly for affordable housing, which was desperately needed in the Malvern Hills district.

Emergency

Keith Parry, head of housing for Malvern Hills District Council, said they had lost a valuable facility in Wheatfield Court.

"To have 30 individual households suddenly in need of accommodation constitutes a peace-time emergency," he said.

"There is a significant lack of that type of accommodation and we are already heavily pressurised. We get more than 300 claims of homelessness per year in Malvern Hills.

"On Good Friday the only place we could put the people from Wheatfield Court was in an hotel, because their clothing and furniture had been burned and they only had the clothes they stood in."

Some were able to find alternative accommodation and others went into hostels, but the majority went to the Fownes and then the Great Western Hotel.

"We are now trying to find some short or long-term accommodation for them, as well as furniture and clothing," said Mr Parry.

He said the managers of the two hotels and the WRVS, which provided clothing, had been "terrific."

Residents and Sir Michael thank all those who sprang into action

HOMELESS residents affected by the Wheatfield Court fire have paid tribute to the generous helpers who came to their aid.

In a letter sent to the Evening News from the 30 residents, who were all evacuated from the Callow End housing complex during Friday's blaze, they thanked "all the people who helped us through the worst Easter weekend of our lives".

The list includes nuns at Stanbrook Abbey, in Callow End, who offered the group food, drink and clothing, plus staff at the Fownes Hotel and Great Western Hotel, both in Worcester, where they stayed after the disaster.

They paid special homage to deputy manager at the Fownes, Glenn Barker, who supported the group, found them accommodation and extra clothing and helped them settle in at the Great Western.

"On top of this he bought us each an Easter egg and also came to see us on his day off on Monday to find out how we were coping," the group wrote.

"Without the help and support of these wonderful people we do not know how we would have coped. Our heartfelt thanks go to these people."

West Worcestershire MP, Sir Michael Spicer (left), added to the tributes by thanking the Hereford and Worcester fire brigade and Worcestershire County Council's social services.

"I was extremely imp-ressed by the dedication of the fire service throughout the county in dealing with what was a very dangerous situation at Wheatfield," said Sir Michael, in whose constituency the village sits.

"I have also written to thank social services whose emergency unit worked extremely hard over the weekend to provide medication for those who needed it as well as extra clothing and accommodation."