IT is 11 months since Hilary Baker and Mac Turner watched helplessly as their Castle Combe home and business went up in smoke.

But despite their vain attempts to rebuild the cottage, the couple have been dealt a series of crushing financial blows and now face the possibility that the gutted building may even be repossessed.

The couple lost everything apart from the clothes they stood up in and a collective £4 in their pocket when fire ripped through their 17th century cottage and bed and breakfast business on February 26.

Their two Jack Russell puppies, Cam and Kickstart perished in the blaze.

The couple, who are now living in rented accommodation in the village, spent most of last year wrangling with insurers.

They learned that their insurance had not been amended to cover the loss of earnings from their business, leaving them unable to cover the cost of their mortgage, their rent and the £1,000-a-month charges for scaffolding, to prop the cottage walls.

An insurance settlement was finally reached last month.

A team of workmen was poised to undertake the painstaking renovation of the cottage, when the couple learned their mortgage lenders wanted to repossess it.

"Because we are in arrears with our mortgage, we have been told that we have to give the bank our insurance money and what's left of the house everything we have," said Mr Turner.

"It seems they think we want to take the money and go and live abroad, but that can't be further from the truth. All we want to do is rebuild our home and our business."

In a desperate bid to hold on to their former home, the couple have taken the case to court and have been granted two months to sort out their finances.

But their insurance money meanwhile, has been frozen.

"We are in arrears because we have had no income but we can't get hold of the money to rebuild our home and business, so we're stuck between a rock and a hard place," said Ms Baker.

The couple's bed and breakfast business was flourishing before the fire and attracted visitors from around the globe.

Ms Baker said that many former guests have sent messages of support after hearing about the blaze.

Their solicitor is now trying to bring forward their court case so the insurance money can be released and they can begin work on the cottage.

But Mr Turner said the fear of losing their home is a constant worry.

"This has been like losing our house all over again," he said.

"Christmas was terrible because all we did was worry and last month we had to call the doctor out because the stress of all this had sent Hilary's muscles into spasm. Our only saving grace has been our neighbours who have all been wonderful.

"We just want this nightmare to be over."

The couple's home, which stands in the centre of the picturesque village, is in the same state as it was almost a year ago.

"We still have the scaffolding there to hold the walls up, but we are so worried about what affect the frost and bad weather is having on the building," said Mr Turner.

In addition to the extensive damage caused by the fire, the sheer weight of water that was pumped on to the roof has also made the ceilings unsafe.

"I lost almost everything from 47 years of my life in that fire," said Ms Baker.

"I just couldn't bear to lose what is left of it."