Just after midday, on Thursday August 10th a devastating fire burnt Leighton’s business to the ground. An extractor fan caught fire, within minutes his entire workshop was ablaze, the billowing smoke could be seen from miles away, the fire took so quickly that in the short time it took for the fire brigade to come, it was already too late. It took more than ten hours to put the fire out, the building required monitoring through the night, as the fire was so bad the fire brigade were worried it would reignite.

Leighton’s entire livelihood was in that building. At least £200,000 worth of machinery and tools, irreplaceable reclaimed timber, finished stock, fixtures and fittings were inside. Nothing is salvageable. The few things not burnt to nothing are damaged beyond repair by the water used to put out the fire. Leighton is left with nothing.

Leighton has been a part of The Yard for the last 6 years. He’s grown his business exponentially, starting in one of the smallest units to having our largest space as his workshop and recently having to move out of his showroom because it was too small! We’ve been so proud of his success, there aren’t many people more motivated or hard working than Leighton. Even if you don’t think you’ve seen his work, you probably have, he made the oak planters for Trinity Triangle and Hastings Town Centre, all the shop fittings at the South Down’s Visitors Centre, the benches in Fairlight Park, and as if that isn’t enough, his garden furniture and tables are shown in the Cuprinol catalogue! He’s always one of the first to offer practical help or suggestions to people in The Yard, he'll be very sorely missed.

Leighton has to take special care of his daughter Daisy, she has the incredibly rare genetic disorder HIHA. His partner also cares for Daisy, with regular trips to Great Ormand Street hospital and many symptoms to manage, this is a full time job. Daisy needs constant monitoring, as her body overproduces insulin, which can cause her to fall into coma. Although one of Leighton’s favourite things to do is work, he never works on a Sunday, and loves spending time with his family and can be found doing DIY around the house or spending time together in the garden.

Leighton needs our help to rise from the ashes. Very sadly, he’s uninsured. He’s starting from nothing. Literally Nothing. He doesn’t even have a premises he can work from. Please give what you can. The donations will be used by Leighton to start his business again, and to support his family in the interim. It doesn’t have to be money, Leighton would be grateful if anyone has any space he can work from, even on a short term basis, he would be grateful for any tools, timber or help building a website that he can sell from (to help him get going again whilst he doesn’t have a shop front). Most importantly, please share this page with as many people as you can.

We would like to send our heartfelt gratitude to the fire brigade: they responded so quickly and worked tirelessly to make sure everyone in The Yard was safely evacuated and stopped the fire spreading to other businesses. In the minutes it took them to arrive it was too late to save Leighton’s workshop, we couldn’t be more grateful they saved everyone else’s.