A FAMILY whose house was badly damaged in a suspected arson attack have contacted the Bury Times to thank family, friends and neighbours who have helped them put their lives back together.

Firemen rushed to the home of teacher Mr Mark Cullen, 33, and his wife Annette, 33, on August 5 and found fires blazing in three separate rooms.

The couple and their three children, Lee, 12, Andrew, 11, and Victoria, eight, were away on holiday at the time of the incident.

They cut short their stay in Fleetwood and returned to a scene of devastation at their home in Palatine Drive in Walmersley, Bury.

Apart from fire damage in the three rooms, the entire property was smoke-damaged.

Mr and Mrs Cullen did not have insurance for the contents of their home and many items were damaged and destroyed.

It appeared that school uniforms and bedding had been deliberately set alight. Irreplaceable framed photographs of the children were found strewn in the back garden, burnt around the edges.

Mr and Mrs Cullen had worked hard on home improvements before the fire but found themselves "back at square one" as a result of it.

In a letter to the Bury Times this week, the couple tell how they have started again since the incident, with assistance from those closest to them.

The family appear to be succeeding in their efforts to put the trauma behind them.

The letter says: "Mark and Annette Cullen and children would like to thank everybody for their kind words, thoughts, help, support and gifts, especially from family, friends and all the neighbours on Palatine Drive.

"After the fire we had nothing and felt like everything was against us."

To those who came to their aid they say: "Your support has helped us in more ways than we can say. The future is starting to look brighter and positive, thanks to all of you."

Detective Inspector Ian Jackson of Bury CID said yesterday that police were still investigating the blaze.

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