A GARAGE owner watched his business of 35 years burn down - just hours after attending his brother's funeral.

John Allen said he felt "absolutely sick" watching the blaze at Allen's Coachpainters, Clayton-le-Moors.

The incident is being treated as suspicious by fire investigators.

Mr Allen, 65, of Spring Hall, Clayton-le-Moors, said he had attended the funeral of his brother David, at Pleasington Cemetery, just hours before last night's blaze.

The 59-year-old father-of-two had battled lung cancer for 12 months.

The two-storey building was gutted during the fire at Oakenshaw Trading Estate in Lower Barnes Street, which was reported at about 8.55pm.

Eight vehicles, three of which belonged to customers, were among the items wrecked.

Mr Allen, who employs two people at the business, said "I feel sick, absolutely sick. I attended my brother's funeral today and to come to this, I can't believe it.

"I have had such a bad day as it is and to end up like this, it just doesn't sink in.

"This has been my life. It is everything I have done.

"I worked here, I started it from nothing. It is just beyond belief."

Fire crews arrived around 9pm after neighbours spotted smoke coming from a nearby property.

By 10.30pm much of the roof had collapsed and the property had been burnt out.

Watch manager at Accrington Fire Station, Peter Frazer, said: "We are treating the fire as suspicious.

"We committed crews at first to try and contain it but it reached a stage where the walls started cracking and we were concerned it was unstable so we had to withdraw."

He said the fire started in the basement and there was a danger it would lead the first floor, where six vehicles had been placed, and collapse on firefighters.

Three fire engines from Accrington and one from Great Harwood attended the scene.

Watch manager Frazer said: "Once we withdrew the crews the fire flashed over and the whole building went up and the roof gave."