MUM Sarah Weller has told how her family was forced to flee their home in the early hours after an arson attack destroyed their caravan, shed and two cars.

Mrs Weller, of Park Close, Ogbourne St George, was woken by a car alarm and her dogs barking at 1.45am on Sunday and looked out of the window to see her shed on fire.

The 41-year-old, her husband Peter, 51, and their teenagers Harriet, 17, and Sam, 15, who go to St John’s Academy, had to be evacuated from their house, along with their neighbours, because it was feared gas canisters attached to the caravan might explode.

Mrs Weller, a carer, said: “I think we’re still in shock, all of us. My daughter is quite frightened of the whole thing. She’s had to go and stay with my best friend for a few days.

“At first I thought it was the moon and then I thought ‘the moon isn’t orange, this is a funny colour’ so I got up and saw the shed was in flames.

“Straight away I shouted ‘fire’ and my husband and son woke up and rang the fire brigade straight away.

“My neighbour was in her garden shouting ‘get out everything is going to blow’.

“By the time we got out two of the cars were on fire and the wind was blowing so it took everything.”

A fire crew from Marlborough and two from Swindon spent around two hours tackling the blaze which has caused more than £37,000 worth of damage.

Mrs Weller said: “The caravan was our home from home. We had everything in there that we’d need just to get up and go if we had a free weekend.

“We’ve been sat here trying to write everything down and you keep thinking of little things.

“We’ve lost some really nice sentimental things that we could never get back.”

The fire, which destroyed a Peugeot RCZ and a Land Rover, is believed to have been started deliberately and is now being investigated by Wiltshire Police.

Mrs Weller said: “Why would anyone do anything like this? It’s so nasty.

“We just keep thinking perhaps they were trying to steal the RCZ, perhaps they were just trying to get into the shed, we just don’t know.

“We feel very edgy, it’s just weird being here now. You don’t think it could happen in a small village like this.”

The family have lived in Park Close for seven years and have never had any problems before.

Mr Weller, a transport manager, said: “To my knowledge nothing has ever gone astray, there’s been nothing untoward at all.

“Before the development started next door there were farm buildings all around there so we were very secluded and private but since the farm buildings have gone we’ve become very open.

“We used to get only visitors for the three bungalows, now all of a sudden it’s a viewing platform and we constantly get people coming up the driveway.”

Sergeant Claire Wallace, of the Marlborough Neighbourhood Police Team, said the two officers who cover the Ogbourne area, PC David Tippetts and PCSO Polly Richards, have stepped up patrols to reassure villagers.

She said: “It appears to be an isolated incident.”

Anyone with information can contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.