More than £3,000 raised after couple lose home in caravan blaze

Fliss Freeborn, 23, bought a used VW Transporter T5 for £8,500 (about $10,000) and converted it into a home on wheels using furniture from her old apartment. The total budget was around £10,000 ($11,900). An old TV stand became a kitchen unit, bed slats became a storage box, and bookshelf shelves were used for the table and bed platform. New wood cost $35, and a custom mattress cost $120. The motorhome has no built-in sink or stove; a portable two-burner stove is used. An auxiliary battery charged by the engine provides power.

Michael Delaney, 39, from Sussex, England, must remove six motorhome pitches and restore a seven-acre plot he concreted without planning permission. Work began in August without an application, and inspector Paul Freer described the development as a 'flagrant, contemptuous and blatant' case of deliberate unauthorized building. The site is habitat for the protected great crested newt, adding an environmental dimension. The family has three months to vacate the motorhomes and six months to remove hard surfaces and restore the land.

The five-star Drummohr Camping and Glamping Site, between Musselburgh and Prestonpans, won the Camping Site of the Year award at the Scottish Hospitality Awards on June 17. It was also a finalist in the Hospitality Champion of the Year category. In 2025, the site was named the UK's most dog-friendly campsite, and in 2024 it won two national awards.

Foggy Bottom Holiday Home Park on the Shropshire and Powys border has expanded with five new lakeside pitches available for purchase. The expansion responds to growing demand for peaceful UK staycations. The pitches can be bought, and static caravans sourced through Salop Leisure. The park operates 11 months a year and has 55 fully serviced pitches.

Woodenwidget has unveiled the Slidabox, a compact travel trailer weighing under 300 kg. It features a slide-out sleeping area extending to two metres and a galley accessible from inside. The caravan is designed for DIY construction from plans sold by the company.

Healing Waves, a charity providing ocean therapy for people with disabilities, has applied to hold a campervan convoy and family fundraiser at the Watersplash on 5 September. The event would begin with a convoy of up to 100 campervans from Le Pulente, followed by a family activity day with a surf simulator, live music and an overnight stay for up to 50 vehicles. Organisers have submitted a risk assessment including staggered departures, Honorary Police escorts and a 3-metre spacing rule for overnight parking. Gas cooking, barbecues and open fires would be banned in the car park.