LESS than two weeks after fire ravaged through a Rossendale mill, power has been restored and production should begin again on Tuesday.

Nearly 50 firefighters were called to tackle the blaze which swept through the three-storey Doric Spring's Forest Mill on Burnley Road East, Water.

The damage looked so severe questions were raised about the future of the company, but Doric's owners Siddall and Hilton, of Sowerby Bridge, promised the 116 workforce that the mill would be rebuilt and production would continue at the only surviving mill in that area of Rossendale.

Today the company has announced trials will be carried out this weekend before production begins next week. And it will be at 60 per cent of pre-fire levels.

Sales director David Nuttall said: "The commitment of our employees has been tremendous. The production machinery was stripped down and cleaned following the fire, and the entire production area has been cleared and returned to working order within an astonishingly short space of time.

"We are all looking forward to business as usual on Monday."

It will be some time before full production levels can be resumed, but in the meantime the company's Barnsley factory is meeting demand for spring units.

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