A YOUTH theatre group has been left devastated after a fire caused around £10,000 worth of damage to its home.

Savoy Youth Theatre Academy was left fearing for its future after the blaze ripped through the building it rents for rehearsals and meetings, in White Swan Court, Monmouth, in the early hours of Friday.

Items such as antiques, costumes, props - and several sentimental items including a wedding dress - were burnt, melted or buried in soot.

The community organisation has been forced to cancel its weekly classes on Wednesday evenings, as a result, until it can move to a new venue after the June half-term.

Sam Densham, director and senior drama leader, said she believes the group may have been forced to close if it had not been for the help offered by community members.

Ms Densham said the building had been “totally gutted.”

“The first reaction is it’s devastating,” she said.

“The second is somehow we are going to come through this.We are still in shock because of the amount of stuff we have lost. But the young people have been fantastic.

“The ethos of the organisation is to give young people a voice and help give them confidence to work out solutions and they are answering the call.”

A Crowdfunding page has been set up to help the theatre group recover and has so far raised around £500.

But Ms Denshsam said many of the items lost were irreplaceable.

“There are many things we have lost that you can’t replace,” added the drama leader.

A fundraising show is also being organised at the Savoy Theatre in Monmouth on July 22.

Past and present members have pledged to take part in the show, as well as professional actors who have worked alongside Savoy Youth Theatre Academy in the past.

Timpson dry cleaners have also offered to wash the items to rescue as many as possible.

To donate visit the funding appeal at bit.ly/2Gissq7