Dunkirk spirit as shop razed

Matthew Tomlinson, a Labour councillor for Leyland Central, has vowed "life goes on" after a blaze badly damaged his newsagent's in Canberra Road, Leyland.

And the defiant trader has even set up a trestle table outside the shop to sell newspapers and cigarettes to his valued customers.

Coun Tomlinson, who lives in Clifton Avenue, said: "Life goes on. Nobody was hurt, that was the main thing. The stock can be replaced.

"But I am not going to let it get me down. I've set-up a trestle table and am trading in front of the shop. It is the Dunkirk spirit. I just hope the weather keeps up for me."

And with Coun Tomlinson not wanting to let his customers down the locals have returned the goodwill by making him and his wife Norma, who also works in the shop, tea and toast.

"They have been great. I can only thank them for the concern they have shown," he said.

The father-of-two was woken by a phone call at 2am yesterday with the news that smoke was billowing out of the newsagent's.

An electrical fault is being blamed for the fire which badly damaged the stock room, kitchen, garage and shop area.

In February Coun Tomlinson had just spent £20,000 extending and re-fitting the Thoroughgoods shop.

A tenant who lived above the shop escaped the blaze with his girlfriend after being alerted by the alarm.

Coun Tomlinson, who has been a newsagent for ten years and can spend up to 78 hours a week working in the shop, said: "My first concern was for the tenant. I was relived that he was out. Then it was just a case of letting the fire service do their job. Running a newsagent's is not just your job it is a way of life. I don't know what I am going to do in the near future. Hopefully I will be able to re-open soon."

Bamber Bridge station commander Mike Doherty, who attended the fire, said: "Two pumps from Leyland and Bamber Bridge were sent out to the fire which we believe was caused by an electrical fault. The two people in the flat upstairs had a lucky escape."