A Sunderland care home which was devastated by fire has welcomed back residents for the first time since the blaze

The Croft Care Home, in Ettrick Grove, Barnes, was left severely damaged following an accidental blaze in the roof void of the building in 2020.

At the height of the incident, more than 40 firefighters and senior officers were working together to bring the fire under control using pumps and specialist appliances from stations across Tyne and Wear.

However, after being closed for almost 20 months, on Wednesday, February 23, the home welcomed back residents for the first time since the incident.

Owner Kathryn Hudson has expressed her delight at being able to welcome residents back to the site and begin to care for those who need it most once again.

She said: “We’re just really excited to get back to it all and look after people again, 33 residents lost their home that day so it is great to be open once again.

"Even though the footprint of the home remains the same as it did before the fire, we now just have a brand new home.

"We’ve still managed to keep the homely feel however we have been able to do things that wouldn’t have been possible before such as getting a whole range of new furniture.

"Everything is now brand new and is looking great.”

To make the reopening day even more special, long-term original resident Eddie Jacob, aged 79, moved back into the Croft Care Home, bringing joy to the staff.

Kathryn added: "All of the staff are over the moon to have Eddie back at the home, he had been with us for around 10 years before the fire took place.

"It was emotional to have him back and even though that he is non-verbal, you could tell how happy he was to be back at the home again.

“I honestly cannot thank everyone enough for all the support, for all the fundraisers and donations following the fire but we are now back open for business and desperate to look after people again.”

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