A BUSINESSMAN who lost part of his car mechanic garage in a blaze has vowed to continue.

Around £13,000 worth of car parts were destroyed in a fire at Calverleys Premier Garage, Great Harwood, and loss assessors are still calculating the total cost of the damage.

Alan Calverley, 49, who owns the Robert Street business, said the flames had destroyed the mechanical side of the business, along with two cars.

The adjacent unit, used as a bodywork workshop, suffered extensive damage to the roof, and 11 cars belonging to customers were also damaged by heat and smoke during the fire.

Mr Calverley has run the business from the units for seven years.

He said: "The loss assessors have told me we will have to move out because the roof is dangerous and it will have to come off completely.

"We are now looking for somewhere to tide us over until around Christmas time while the unit is made safe.

"In the meantime, we will be able to do some mechanical work in the body repair part of the building, but will not know exactly what we can, and cannot, do until we are asked about a particular job.

"Between £12,000 and £14,000 worth of parts were burnt in the fire so the business has been seriously affected.

"We have had a £95,000 turnover so far this year and had been doing really well recently, so were very disappointed when this happened, but we will not close down.

"I was totally upset and shocked -- it is hard to put into words."

Firefighters, who used a power saw to cut through the roller shutter door, said the fire started as the result of an electrical fault.