Town & City boss vows to restore fire-hit pub

The boss of Town & City pubs, Toby Smith, has vowed to restore the fire-ravaged Yates's pub in Blackpool to its former glory.

The iconic Victorian building was gutted when a huge fire broke out in an adjacent shopping arcade in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The pub was almost totally destroyed and structural engineers will decide later today whether the building will have to be demolished.

Chief executive Smith, who visited the scene of devastation yesterday, said he was gutted at the sight of the wrecked building.

"It's a case of almost not wanting to ask the question exactly how much damage has been done," he said. "But in the same way we are very determined to re-build the site back to its former glory."

The landmark site in the resort's North Shore is one of the best-known pubs in the north of England and a flagship site of the former Manchester-based Yates's Wine Lodge company.

It had only recently re-opened following a £500,000 refurbishment in preparation for the forthcoming holiday season.

The pub was originally opened by Yates's in 1896 and has consistently operated as one of the company's top performing outlets and at its peak a few years ago regularly turned over more than £60,000 per week at the height of the summer season.

A 21-year-old man has been arrested by police on suspicion of arson.