A popular bakery is set to rise from the ashes of a devastating fire thanks to the support of an incredible group of customers who have donated a whopping £25,000 in just two weeks.

The fire broke out at the Hylsten Bakery in Buckfastleigh just before Christmas, causing irreparable damage to its oven and widespread smoke damage to the rest of the equipment and fabric of the building.

After discovering their insurance didn’t cover the cost of the damage, disheartened owners Kate Marton, 30, and Megan Nash, 27, thought they had no option but to throw in the towel.

The pair had opened the bakery just 15 months earlier and were not in a strong enough financial position to cover the costs themselves.

But then two of their loyal Totnes customers, Elise Evans of Country Cheeses and Sima Cutting of The Kitchen Table, stepped in to help by launching a crowdfunding campaign to cover the cost of a re-equipping and redecorating the bakery, and covering staff wages.

The bakery sells the majority of its bread in Totnes and within days generous customers and supporters had raised just shy of the £28,000 target.

Kate and Megan say they are completely overwhelmed and blown away by the incredible love and support they have received, and give Elise and Sima their deepest and most heartfelt thanks.

Elise said: “Kate and Megan are quite young and it was amazing they set up their bakery during lockdown.

“Our customers love their bread and I was was devastated for them when the fire happened over Christmas.

“I wanted to help so I contacted Sima and together we set up the Go Fund Me page.

“Within hours it had gone absolutely mad.

“It’s amazing how generous people have been, especially considering the last couple of years we’ve had.

“It’s fantastic that people are just so supportive.”

Kate said: “The fire was so upsetting and when we found out about the insurance not covering us we thought it was game over.

“Then Alisa and Sima came to me with their idea and it’s just been crazy how it’s gone, we’ve almost reached the target and it’s only been a week-and-a-half.

“I feel like thank you isn’t a big enough word; I don’t know how to put it into words because it’s just so much, the feelings are so big.

“I’m really overwhelmed how much generosity there is out there and how amazing our community is.

“There is a really strong community in Totnes and it’s just been proven so beautifully by this.

“People just want to help each other and it’s just so heart-warming.

“We would live to give our most deepest, heartfelt thank you to Elise and Sima.

“Without them we wouldn’t have a bakery.

“The amount of hard work Meg and I put in to starting it, to have that honoured and valued is just so hard to express. We are just blown away.”