Government Boost for Lincs Fire Service

BBC

The clue is in the photo...

DEVASTATED brides-to-be broke down in tears after discovering their dream dresses lay blackened in a bridal shop gutted by fire.

Tonight's Peterborough Evening Telegraph carries a front page photo of Tracey Cox who says losing the dress for her wedding in three weeks time was her worst nightmare.

Businesswoman Tracey has launched a 'crisis fund' for other couples affected and has donated £500 to get the ball rolling.

Kind gesture, but isn't that what insurance is for..?

She went on:

I can't get through to the shop or leave a message.

I'm not surprised Tracey can't get through to the shop.

The clue is in the photo...

£30,000 in wedding dresses destroyed...

The impact of the Deepings blaze is spreading - owners of the Bridal Centre are appealing to up to 30 brides whose wedding dresses have gone up in flames to get in touch.

Tonight's Peterborough Evening Telegraph reports that owners of the burnt out Bridal Shop have made a desperate appeal for brides to get in touch, as all their customer records were also destroyed

Manager of the Bridal Centre Sandy Smith told the ET the dresses were worth about £1,000 each.

She said: "We are appealing for our customers to contact us via our special helpline number..."

But she also admitted "...there's nothing we can physically do for them."

Customers are asked to call a helpline number 0798 493 4696 or log on to

www.thebridalcentre.co.uk

Meanwhile the whole site has been cordoned off for safety.

See Video of the Deepings fire...

The Deepings blaze which I posted on HERE and HERE yesterday, didn't start in the Bridal Centre as first thought, but next door at Fushion, the blinds and fabric shop, according to a report on the Lincolnshire Free Press website.

Spectacular photos showing flames billowing from the building at the height of the Deepings blaze - sent in by a reader - are also published on the Free Press site.

Meanwhile the Peterborough Evening Telegraph has gone one better with a dramatic video.

UPDATED WITH PHOTOS: Gowns for this weekend's wedding go up in flames...

The impact of the Deepings blaze which destroyed six shops today will touch the lives of many people - such as the young lady who turned up at the Bridal Centre expecting to collect a set of bridesmaids dresses for a wedding tomorrow.

She was met with a scene of total devastation as 40 fire-fighters tackled the fire and left with wedding plans in tatters.

As the mess is now being damped down and the roads re-opened, the only evidence that a bridal shop ever existed are the remains of a couple of sad mannequins in black-charred wedding gowns.

The Bridal Centre - a local business partnership - is trying to do everything possible to help its customers and has a website and email for anyone concerned about their wedding outfits.

The fire totally destroyed the Bridal Centre, a book shop, Fushions Fabrics, and a men's barber shop.

Fire-fighters did well to partially save Hop-Scotch kiddies shoes shop and ACS wedding photographers - but their premises are flooded and stock likely to be a complete write-off.


I'm no expert, but I'd be surprised if any of the structure can be saved.

In my earlier post breaking the news today, I wrote that it was unlikely that asbestos was involved as the structure had been rebuilt. But it appears that the old roof of Todd's Garage - which appears to be asbestos - remained in place when Terry Wright converted the premises into a parade of shops some years ago.

I spoke with Terry as he surveyed the damage this afternoon. He was badly shaken and his first concern was to help his tenants who could only watch on as years of hard work and investment went up in flames in moments.

Meanwhile, here's how local media are covering the Deepings blaze:

Stamford Mercury

Peterborough Evening Telegraph