Barney Lawrence is 10 and lives in Worthing. This is a photo of him and his granny. Just two months ago, his family finally got the chance to rent a beach hut from Worthing council, after being on the waiting list for years. Barney is autistic but he loves to visit the beach hut with his mum, granny and grandad every weekend. His mum describes it as "his happy place".

Only this morning they woke up to the news that there'd been a fire on Worthing seafront caused by someone setting fire to a stolen motorbike. The bike was near to a row of beach huts opposite Heene Road and unfortunately Barney's beach hut, along with all the family's possessions stored inside, was completely destroyed.

Barney and the family are devastated, as you can imagine. His mum was in tears this morning and his grandad was sifting through their burnt possessions to find a special stone which Barney had found on the beach. It was heartbreaking. Aside from the lost months they will now face while the beach hut is re-built, Barney's mum was worried about how she was going to replace some of the toys and other items that Barney stored in the beach hut. Of course some items are irreplaceable, but I thought if we could do something for the family it would really help. This beach hut was their dream and they were so happy there, enjoying every minute. I feel gutted for them.

My family and I rent a beach hut nearby which only just avoided the fire. So many people walked by this morning and offered their sympathy that I'm hoping the kindness of Worthing's residents will provide Barney with some hope after this unsettling event.