Riot-hit family thrown a lifeline after insurers refuse their claim

A local community is rallying round to support a family who lost their livelihood in the summer riots after insurers rejected a claim for damage to their store.

Ravi Khurmy and his wife Amrit ran Ealing Green Local Supermarket, which was destroyed in a blaze started during the unrest in August.

Then they received another blow when insurers rejected the claim that would have enabled them to rebuild their business.

But the family is now able to work on putting their lives back together again, with the help of Ealing council which has offered them a temporary lease on a unit in Bond Street, near their old shop.

New bikes were also given to their daughters Kiran, 16, and Simmi, 12, to replace those destroyed in the blaze.

Mrs Khurmy said: "The girls are really happy with the bikes.

"We are feeling really bad as we had to forget Christmas presents this year. We can't even afford to put food on the table as we have run out of money."

The gifts - funded by the Ealing mayor's riot victim fund - were presented to the girls by one of their favourite stars of the Bhangra music scene, Junai Kaden. Their insurance company, AXA, described the Ealing supermarket business as dramatically under-insured, with enough to cover only one 10th of the £250,000 claim. Mrs Khurmy said: "We know we were under-insured but they [the insurance company] have rejected our policy over silly things like signage and things like that. We are going to challenge them but it will take time." Mrs Khurmy added: "We were just trying to provide for our children and to the community. It is heartbreaking."