A FAMILY who lost everything when their home was gutted by fire two weeks ago are trying to rebuild their lives.

Grandmother Margaret Butterfield, 59, only had time to call the fire brigade before fleeing her blazing home on Baron's Mead, Chippenham, with her daughter and granddaughter. The memories of 40 years of marriage were destroyed by the flames.

"We've lost everything, it's devastating," said Mrs Butterfield who had to flee barefooted from the blaze. A photo album containing 40 years of memories is one of the most sadly missed items lost in the fire.

Mrs Butterfield was at the home shared by three generations of her family with her daughter Elizabeth Sherman and granddaughter Katherine, 15, when the blaze started in their conservatory on the evening of March 2.

Grandsons James, 13, and Daniel, 12, were out playing snooker and husband Leonard, 63, was out lorry driving.

The family has been rehoused by its insurance company to rented accommodation on Moss Mead and expects to be there for at least six months.

Mrs Butterfield says she is not sure that she will ever be able to return to the house, which had been the family home for 16 years.

"I have to come past it to get to this house and when I look back, I crack up again," she said.

Despite the devastating loss, Mrs Butterfield says she and her family know they are lucky to be alive.

"This not the same as being in your own home but I am grateful for whatever I have got," she said.

"We had lots of memories there and we can't replace the photographs, but at the end of the day, we are still here and you can't replace us."

Mrs Butterfield says she soon hopes to be able to return to work at Faccenda, the chicken-processing factory in Sutton Benger, where she has worked for the last 34 years.

The family has been overwhelmed by the support it has received from friends and the community.

Colleagues at Faccenda, where Mrs Butterfield, her husband, daughter, son and daughter-in-law all work, organised a collection. Company boss Robert Faccenda then matched the £400 donation.

They have also been given money by the Salvation Army and St Peter's Church and discounts in Littlewoods and Peacocks in Chippenham.

Mrs Butterfield said she wanted to thank everyone who had helped her family.

Hardenhuish School pupil, Katherine, lost all of her GCSE coursework and a brand new sewing machine in the blaze. She also lost her CD player and a ticket to see Westlife.

The fire is believed to have been started by a cigarette or an electrical fault.