Mum-of-seven left 'trapped in a nightmare' after devastating council house fire
Hayley Lundie, 30, says she feels trapped in a 'complete nightmare' after her Bristol council home burst into flames - leaving her and her seven children with no place to live
A mum has been left reeling after a fire ripped through her home this week, leaving her and her seven children with nothing.
Hayley Lundie, 30, says she feels trapped in a "complete nightmare", with "everything gone" from the council-owned property in Knowle, Bristol. The fire erupted at around 2.40pm on Monday, October 20, prompting crews from Bedminster and Temple to race to the scene extinguish the flames.
Avon Fire and Rescue Service confirmed an investigation has been launched to establish the cause of the blaze, but Hayley says the fire followed a year-long battle to get Bristol City Council to repair faulty electrics in her home, which a surveyor declared unsafe.
A fire service spokesperson said: "On Monday, 20th October at 14:42, crews from Bedminster and Temple attended a house fire in Knowle, Bristol. The fire was extinguished using two high-pressure hose reels and safety jets. There will be an ongoing investigation to determine how the fire started."
Hayley claims she had been neglected for months after asking to Bristol City Council to repair the faulty electrics in her property, Bristol Live reports. She said: "Everything we've ever known and worked for is just gone because of negligence. This could all have been sorted; all our stuff could have been moved out of the house before this happened.
"I feel like I've done everything I can, but have been neglected for months and months. It's a complete nightmare that you never want to happen, I don't know what to do with myself."
The family moved into the council home in April 2024. Hayley, her partner and seven children - aged between eight months and nine years old - are now facing the enormous challenge of finding somewhere to live after losing all their possessions.
She said she first called on the Housing Disrepair Team in July 2025 after finding a host of problems left behind by the previous tenants. "A lot needed to be done to make the house safe, and I reported things to the council, but nothing got done so I eventually got in touch with the Housing Disrepair Team, who sent a surveyor round and deemed that the electrics in the kitchen had failed.
"They put in a claim with Bristol City Council for work to be done to fix things, but we haven't been listened to." Last week, Hayley's problems only worsened when a plumber arrived to install a new dishwasher, only to find there was no power coming from her boiler.
She said: "He couldn't work out why, so an electrician then came round and tried to put a new fuse in, but it kept tripping my electrics. We were left without hot water or heating for two days. I had to send my eight-month-old son to his auntie's house just to keep him warm."
A second electrician then came around last Thursday at 9.30pm. and reportedly told Hayley that her electrics were failing. She said: "He did further tests and told me that the house wasn't safe for a family to be living in. He said he didn't even feel comfortable leaving the property with the way the electrics were, and that the council should have transferred our tenancy to emergency accommodation."
Hayley was then told a surveyor would be sent out on November 14 - so she felt she had no choice but to declare herself and her family homeless.
She said: "I went to Bristol City Council on Friday morning to argue my case, but was told to go home and that they would send over a repairs person to assess if the house was unsafe. Nobody ever came, so on Saturday we all went to my sister-in-law's house, where we spent the weekend."
On top of this, Hayley had to rush her eight-month-old son to Bristol Children's Hospital after he fell poorly. After visiting her on Monday, her partner returned to their home to find it on fire.
She said: "On Monday morning my partner dropped the kids at school, and then went back to the house to get some spare clothes to bring to me and our son in hospital. He left the house at 12.30pm, came to the hospital to see us, and then returned home at 2.45pm to find it alight."
The mum said she was left in a state of shock, adding, "It didn't really hit me until the following morning. I didn't want to believe it had happened.
It could have been a totally different story. God forbid my partner and kids had been in the house at the time, I could have been burying my children now." Hayley has since returned to Bristol City Council and has been set up with emergency accommodation in Easton, but only for the next two weeks.
A gofundme page has also been set up to help her and her children in the aftermath of the fire. You can donate to it here.
She said: "We're so grateful for everything people are doing for us as a community, and can't thank the people of Knowle enough for what they are doing for my family. But of course, it doesn't replace all the memories."
The Mirror has contacted Bristol City Council for comment.