Help on the way for blast victims

BLAST scene: the explosion on Buckley Street

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THE Oldham Distress Fund has so far given out £60,000 to victims of the Shaw gas blast, says one of the trustees.

Councillor Howard Sykes says getting the money to victims quickly is paramount: “I would rather one person gets the money who doesn’t deserve it and 10 people who deserve it do, than the other way around.”

Straight-talking Councillor Sykes said the key was to balance red tape against getting money quickly to those in need of it - some of whom have lost their homes and all their possessions.

The Oldham Distress Fund, set up with £100,000 from Oldham Council and £125,000 from the Greater Manchester Distress Fund is a registered charity, separate from the emergency loans the council handed to people in the days after the blast.

“There is a suspicion because it says Oldham Distress Fund,” he said. “The decision was made because this was on the shelf. We just pulled it down and used it.”

The three trustees — councillors Sykes, Jenny Harrison and Jean Stretton — meet daily to receive applications. Claims have been made for everything from new car keys and children’s toys to furniture and clothes; even the bond and first month’s rent for a replacement home.

People who have had a share of the money so far aren’t barred from asking again, he said. “It’s about getting a fair dollop of money to people. They don’t know what things they are missing, people do not know what they want.”

He added that whether insured or not, applicants got an equal hearing: “It’s a distress fund and this is for people in distress.”

Those with insurance have to make sure any payments from the distress fund do not invalidate their insurance. Each person affected by the explosion has their own caseworker.

There are no criteria setting out what people can claim for or how much they can receive.

“If you draw a line somewhere, there is going to be somebody above it and somebody below it,” he added.

“Will a few pounds have gone where it shouldn’t? Probably. But the lion’s share will have gone to where it should and that needs to be our approach.

“This is probably the most stressful thing these people have ever gone through so people are stressed and we have got to accept that.

“All of us have never done anything like this before and I do not want to do it again. Will we get everything right? I’ll be amazed if we did. Will we get it broadly right? I would think so and I hope so.”

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