Friends and family of a Redruth mechanic whose workshop went up in flames, destroying his tools, have raised over £1,300 to get his business up and running again.

Kevin Knowles spent years collecting tools in his workshop at KSK Autorepair, and narrowly escaped with his life as a fire engulfed the shop whilst him and his dad were inside.

After his livelihood was destroyed by the tragic fire, his sister Helen Ansell set up a JustGiving page which has raised the money in less than a month.

Writing on the JustGiving page, Helen said: “All his life my brother Kevin has been obsessed with cars and bikes...so really it was no surprise that he learnt to be a mechanic straight after school!”

She continued: “Since then he has worked so hard to build up his own business. A life time’s collection of tools has been collected to do every little job for his customers (and there were so many!!), and because of his passion for the job he has built a large loyal customer base.”

Adding: “Unfortunately there was a fire at his garage last week which started with both him and my dad inside. Luckily they were both out safe and sound however that fire has completely destroyed everything, lots of personal belongings and everything he has worked so hard for over the years gone in a matter of minutes.”

“My poor brother had to stand by and watch his life burn to the ground and there was nothing he could do despite trying.”

Three fire engines attended the fire, which started in a car, but were hampered in their attempts to put out the fire by the fact that there was asbestos in the roof of the garage, and so they had to take extra precautions.

Donors on the JustGiving page left messages of support: “Hard enough making a living without this knocking you back! Call me if there's anything I can do.”

Another said: “Sorry to hear the news Kev, hope everyone digs deep to help you out.”

To support the appeal, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kevinknowles.