TikTok stars - The Smithy Family - who's house was firebombed were being targeted by a vile hate campaign.
Nick Smith and his partner Jess Farthing are famous for their funny TikTok videos featuring their children Amelia, eight, Ted, two, and Isabella, 10.
Back in July 2021, their semi-detached family home in Welling, South East London caught on fire after two youths firebombed father Nick's car, which spread throughout the house.
CCTV footage shows that just before 11pm, a pair of hooded men in face masks were seen setting fire to the family's Ford Mondeo.
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At the time, Nick claimed the attackers were armed with a 'milk bottle of accelerant'.
He said: "The level they have gone to to do this is unreal. We had to go through that ordeal."
As well as setting fire to the car, one man also managed to catch fire to his arm in the process.
Nick says it all started six months prior to the incident, when dedicated forums started to become abusive towards the family, referring to them as 'filth and scum'.
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Hate campaigns were formed and their address was being leaked online, which resulted in the family receiving more than a hundred takeaway deliveries they hadn’t ordered, including a prostitute, who once showed up at their door.
Recalling the fire, Nick told The Sun: “I heard cries of horror coming from upstairs.
“Jack had seen the boys run away and the flames. It was mayhem after that.
“We couldn’t go out the front door because the flames were as high as the house so we ran out the back carrying Ted and climbed over the neighbour’s fence.
“When the kids were safe, we went back to get the animals.
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“The fire spread through the front door and into the hallway and the smoke damage throughout was horrendous.”
The father says that his family were being trolled by many corners of the internet, especially by online gossip forum Tattle Life.
Nick claims: “We were targeted by a group on Tattle Life who were absolutely vile and disgusting.
“They would post horrible comments about us.
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“They also kept reporting our videos to try and get us banned from platforms. It was organised trolling.
“They reported us and said our videos contained bullying and harassment, they reported one for child nudity. It was all lies.
“Our address was also leaked online and that’s when the takeaway deliveries started. That progressed and eventually we had to take the kids out of school.”
The perpetrators were never found, however, police confirmed at the time that the fire at The Smithy Family's home was arson.
“Unfortunately, the more popular and high profile you become, the more you attract this kind of attention. People get jealous and have nothing better to do with their time,” the dad said.
Anish Vij