A COUPLE'S lives have been turned upside down after a fire gutted their home.

Henry and Kirsty Latham had gone out for something to eat in Bexleyheath on February 26 when they received a text from a friend.

It was then they discovered their block of flats in Belvedere was ablaze.

Mr Latham, 32, said: "A friend in Belvedere had seen what was going on and wanted to know if we were OK.

"That was the first we knew anything was wrong. We just dropped everything and went home."

When they got back to Belvedere Court, a four-storey block of flats in Laymarsh Close, 30 firefighters were on the scene trying to tackle the blaze, which took more than three hours to get under control.

The couple's flat, which was on the top floor, was one of the most badly damaged.

Mr Latham said: "We have lost everything. We only got married last summer and all our wedding gifts were stored in the loft.

"All the glassware and china we were given has gone. So has Kirsty's wedding dress, although we did manage to salvage some photographs."

Mrs Latham, 23, had taken off her engagement ring while washing her hands before the couple went out and had left it in the bathroom. That has also now been lost. Mr Latham went on: "Someone managed to rescue our puppy but the hamster died.

"It is the little things you don't think of until you haven't got them. We have no clothes and we cannot even charge our mobile phones."

The flat was the couple's first home and they were just six weeks away from completing its sale so they could move into a new house.

Mr Latham said: "I don't know what will happen now."

The couple are staying with family who have rallied round to provide them with spare clothes and other items.

Mr Latham added: "This was all a shock and a pretty hideous experience."

The 16-flat block is a shared-ownership scheme between residents and Hyde Housing Association.

Residents have still not been able to move back in although it is hoped those in the four least badly damaged flats will be able to return soon.

Repairs on the rest of the flats could take between three and six months.

Hyde has offered to help residents find private rented accommodation which will be paid for by its insurers.