A couple made homeless after an arson attack on their pub have told of their nightmare month since the blaze.
Destroyed - an arson attack on his pub left landlord Grahame Sams and his family homeless. (44220-4)
Landlord Grahame Sams escaped with his life after his pet dogs alerted him to the fire at the Coach and Horses in Clacton.
Along with his partner, Sandra Merritt, and her three children, they have been living in temporary accommodation ever since.
Mr Sams' 17-year-old daughter, Natalie, who lived with her mother in Chelmsford, died in a car crash two weeks ago.
Now the family have been offered a two-bedroom council flat on an estate where they claim people who have previously threatened them are living.
"It has been a living hell ever since the night of the blaze," said Mr Sams. "We had a home and a business and we managed to pay the bills.
"Now we have no money, no home, nothing. I have also lost Natalie, whose funeral was on Monday. I keep saying it can't get any worse, but it does."
The family have been living at Silver Woods, Thorrington.
A police investigation is continuing into the August 7 pub blaze.
More in today's Evening Gazette
Published Wednesday, September 14, 2005
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