More than £250k raised for police officer who lost family in Stroud Boxing Day fire

More than £250,000 has been raised for a police officer who lost his wife and two children in a Boxing Day house fire.

An online fundraising appeal was launched after Fionnghuala Shearman, known as Nu, died alongside her daughter Eve, seven, and four-year-old son Ohner in the blaze at their home in Brimscombe, near Stroud, Gloucestershire.

Police said Gloucestershire Constabulary officer Tom Shearman tried to save his family by smashing his way out through the bathroom window but was unable to get back inside because of the severity of the fire.

He was taken to hospital, but has since been discharged.

More than 12,400 people had made donations to the GoFundMe appeal, raising more than £257,000 by Wednesday morning, with a fresh target of £350,000 after passing its original goal of £110,000.

Emergency services were called to the family’s mid-terrace Cotswold stone cottage on Brimscombe Hill at about 3am on Boxing Day.

Mr and Mrs Shearman, who ran a bespoke handbag manufacturer, had been awoken by the fire and tried to reach their children in the rear bedroom.

Police believe the fire started on the ground floor and investigations are ongoing to establish the cause, but it is not being treated as suspicious.

The fire destroyed the roof, the ceilings and stairs, as well as causing other significant internal damage.

Temporary chief constable Maggie Blyth said the bodies of the two children, and the family dog had now been recovered from the property, while Mrs Shearman’s body had been recovered earlier.