RESIDENTS forced out of their homes after the tragic Shirley Towers fire will be moved back this week.

Up to 11 families are preparing to move back either today or tomorrow with the remainder of those who have been in temporary accommodation moved back by the end of the week.

Nearly two weeks after firefighters Alan Bannon and James Shears lost their lives fighting the blaze, Southampton City Council said more than 30 families will be moved back by the end of the week.

Some 16 families have been rehoused in permanent accommodation due to the extent of the damage to their homes.

A council spokesman said: “We are hoping to see up to eleven families return to their homes over the next two days but we have left their hotel rooms open should there be any issues when they arrive back.”

Meanwhile fundraising events were continuing across the county to raise money for the bereaved families.

It was gunge galore at the Griffin pub in Shirley, where residents packed their local watering hole to raise hundreds of pounds through raffles and auctions, for the James Shears and Alan Bannon Memorial Fund.

Pub manager Jan Henderson said: “It has been an absolutely fantastic day and it has been so touching to see so many residents turn out in support of our firefighters.”

Almost 100 Hampshire bikers paid their tributes with a 67-mile charity motorcycle ride to Salisbury and back yesterday.

Setting off from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Training Centre in Eastleigh, the convoy, headed up by two fire engines, observed a two-minute silence before taking to the road.

In Fareham a team of ex-servicemen planning to recreate the daring raid of the Cockleshell Heroes in the Second World War also joined firefighters for a charity car wash. It was also a soapy affair at Ringwood fire station where a car wash proved equally as popular. Firefighters in Shirley and Southampton took to the streets with their collection buckets.

As reported in Saturday’s Daily Echo, Alan Bannon’s funeral will take place on April 27 and the funeral of firefighter James Shears will take place on April 30 in Poole.