FAR too many events shake our faith in humanity, so it is always a delight when something has exactly the opposite effect.

Recent events in Cricklade Road fall firmly into that latter category.

Few things short of bereavement can be more traumatic for a family than to have their home all but destroyed by fire.

Personal mementoes are gone, memories are tarnished and there is a sense of violation and despair.

Nobody apart from those who have experienced such a tragedy can possibly understand what it is like, but any compassionate human being can sympathise and offer help.

That is what has happened to the family in Cricklade Road, and we hope it means they recover from their trauma sooner.

The first offers of assistance from neighbours, friends and well-wishers from across Swindon were made shortly after the family had been rescued and the flames extinguished. Those offers have been coming without a break ever since.

Food, household goods, clothing and even baby milk have been made available, and one boy, Sarah Ladd’s son, Lewis, even offered a games console.

Sarah’s online donation page, like that of fellow neighbour Tracy Mabbott, helped to raise awareness of the family’s plight.

Sarah told us: “To see people club together to help is extraordinary.”

We would go further than that. It is not merely extraordinary; it is magnificent.

It is also a much-needed argument against those who would have us believe that selfishness reigns in 2015.