CHARLOTTE MORRIS cuddles her toddler son - comforting him every time he asks for his dad.

Charlotte, 28, should be looking forward to family life with her fianc Julian Davies, the couple watching their son grow up, go to school for the first time, kick a football.

But on May 22, a fire broke out at their home in Blake Road, Lliswerry. An asthmatic, Julian, 31, was overcome by smoke inhalation and died later at the city's Royal Gwent Hospital.

Now, Charlotte is facing life and bringing up their son without him.

Her greatest hope is that 18-month-old son Scott will grow up to be like his father.

She says: "Julian loved Scott so much, they are the spitting image of each other. He was a good man, he liked his rugby and spending time with all his friends.

"When Scott grows up I will tell him he can be proud of his dad.

"If Scott is anything like his dad he will be a wonderful man."

And she is hoping that Julian's family, who live in Swansea, will help Scott learn about his father.

She says: "Julian's parents come and visit me and Scott and help all they can. I want Scott to stay in close contact with them.

"On Father's Day, I took Scott down to the cemetery and told him 'This is Daddy's garden now'.

"He just doesn't understand. Sometimes he cries out and asks me where Daddy is, but what can I say?"

Scott is finding it hard to cope with the upheaval and has started misbehaving. The mum and son are currently staying in a box-room at Charlotte's mother's house.

Charlotte says: "My mother's blindness means Scott can't have his toys out. When I lie in bed and think about it I try not to let him see me crying, but what can I do?"

Charlotte and Swansea-born Julian met six years ago in Newport nightclub Zanzibar.

She says: "He asked me if I wanted a drink and I never looked back. We had a wonderful time together, but I thought we would be together for life.

"I should be organising my wedding now, we were planning on getting married later this year. Instead I'm homeless."

When the fire broke out Charlotte was working. She will never forget the moment she heard the news.

She says: "Dad came in and I knew from his eyes something dreadful had happened.

"When he told me I thought the world had ended. I had to go and identify his body and that is something no one should have to go through. He was so young."