Birthday boy Noah loses his gifts and beloved three cats

A SHAW boy who turned eight two days after the explosion has been left with no presents.

All the gifts for Ginette Ibbeson-Smith’s son Noah are inside the condemned family home in Buckley Street, which is to be demolished.

The family is three members short: three of six cats are unaccounted for.

A heartbroken Ginette, said: “We have not been able to give Noah his presents, because they are all in the property. It’s just horrendous when you hear house is to be demolished — it’s our lives and it’s Noah’s world in there. We’ve spent hours trying to get back our cats.”

The family says because they have insurance, they have received no money from the Oldham Distress Fund.

Ginette added: “I think its ridiculous, it’s a disaster and distress fund. We have lost a lot more than a lot of people. Fortunately we are still here, but it’s our home and nobody is taking it seriously enough.”

The family’s insurance company has found a rented property in Shaw for them to move into by August.


JACKIE Hunter witnessed her living room floor lift from the ground and her front door splinter in the explosion.
Living in the “red zone” of the disaster scene, site chiefs have told Jackie her house has structural damage.

She said: “They think it is repairable, but I can’t go in until the other houses come down.”

Jackie, who is insured said she will receive no help from the Oldham Distress Fund.

“I don’t begrudge anyone a penny,” she said.

“There are some really bad cases. But there’s this core of us that are left that don’t know what’s happening.”


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