‘Seeing fires destroying homes in Stourbridge was like history repeating itself’

People in Wennington have expressed their shock at seeing history repeat itself after wildfires destroyed homes in Stourbridge on 13 August.

“I do know how they feel, and it’s something that should never, ever have happened,” said Hager, who has lived in her home since 1964 and brought up her two sons there.

“They’ve got to draw on their family and try and find the strength to get through because it’s not going to be easy.”

She believed that without the help of her partner, her sons and her faith, she would not have survived the last three years.

“A lot of people think it’s like a death because you’ve lost everything; you’re grieving your home,” she said.

As well as the 19 homes recently lost in Stourbridge, about a dozen homes were destroyed in Birmingham, four in Stoke-on-Trent, three in Pershore, Worcestershire, and three in Willenhall, near Wolverhampton.

The Reverend Elise Peterson, from St Mary and St Peter’s Church in Wennington, said seeing the devastation “felt like it was happening all over again”.