Trip to Butlins for 170 refugees of flats fire

UP to 170 people displaced by the fire which killed six people in Camberwell have been on a day trip to Butlins to "take their mind off it".

The trip to Bognor Regis was organised yesterday for residents of Lakanal House, which went up in flames 10 days ago.

A number of tenants' associations paid for the trip, while Butlins gave 100 residents free admission.

Jacqueline Bailey, 20, who is staying in a nearby hotel after her flat was damaged by the fire, went with her three-year-old son Dennis.

She said: "It felt weird to be taken out of London. It was good to get away. It took our minds off things.

"I was really surprised because they give us money for food and everything. It was really nice of them."

Organiser John McGrath, chairman of Sceaux Gardens Tenants' Association, said: "It's a day out for them, a nice time and a little bit of fresh air -something we feel they deserve. Obviously they deserve a hell of a lot more."

There have been a number of complaints about the standard of temporary accommodation for those displaced by the fire.

Resident David Brempang, 26, said: "The place is rubbish and if they don't change it today, I'm not going to stay there again. It's very dirty."

Dayana Francisquini, 26, her son Filipe, three, and six-year-old daughter Thais, as well as neighbour Helen Udoaka, 34, her three-week-old daughter Michelle and fashion designer Catherine Hickman, 31, died in the fire.