Last updated at 18:45, Sunday, 12 August 2012

A HOTEL that was forced to close due to fire damage has fully re-opened.

The Peel Hotel, in Millom, is officially back open for business.

Fire crews spent hours battling a blaze at the premises in June 2010.

Landlord David Eley said the ground floor had been “wrecked” by the blaze, which is believed to have been sparked by an electrical fault behind one of the bar fridges.

Since then, Mr Eley has spent 16 months getting the guest house back up and running.

He said: “The whole ground floor was wrecked. The only thing that wasn’t damaged was the kitchen.

“A lot of hard work has gone in to getting it back up and running.”

The hotel’s bars had just been refurbished, ahead of the World Cup, when the fire broke out.

The guest accommodation was also smoke damaged but the eight rooms are once again available to the public.

Mr Eley is now hoping to make up for lost time and has even transformed two of the downstairs bars in to a single function room, while still maintaining a TV lounge for guests.

Speaking to the Evening Mail just after the fire, residents told how the road was cordoned off while fire crews – from Millom, Bootle and Coniston – dealt with the blaze.

One Hope Street resident said he heard a sound “like a really loud firework” before the crews arrived.

Carol Burrow, of Rottington Gardens, spoke to the Evening Mail. She said she saw smoke coming from the pub and phoned 999.

She said: “I saw smoke coming out of the vents and phoned the fire brigade.

“Firemen broke the windows in the ground floor before putting out the fire.

“It was lucky no-one was in there – it could have been much worse.”

Several residents also told how smoke billowed down the street, while Mr Eley could do nothing but stand outside, with the gathering crowds, and watch as the flames engulfed his business.

First published at 13:10, Sunday, 12 August 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk