A HEARTBROKEN arson victim who watched his business of 35 years burn to the ground, today said he was determined to reopen.

John Allen built up Allen's Coachpainters in Clayton-le-Moors from nothing.

The 65-year-old saw fire destroy his business on Monday night.

The blaze came just hours after he attended the funeral of his brother David, 59, who died after a year-long battle with lung cancer.

Mr Allen, who employs two people, said: "This has been my life. It is everything I have done, I worked here, I started it from nothing.

"It is just beyond belief, I feel sick, absolutely sick."

He said had been planning to retire in two years and hand the business to his colleague Paul Highton, who he has worked with for the past 27 years.

He added: "I still want to hand over the business.

"The insurance company said I should be getting some money in the next month and we are hoping to open again at a temporary location in Clayton in the next few weeks."

The two-storey building, at Oakenshaw Trading Estate in Lower Barnes Street, was gutted by a fire thought to have started in the basement of the property just before 9pm on Monday .

Eight vehicles, three of which belonged to customers, were among items wrecked during the blaze, along with thousands of pounds worth of equipment.

Mr Allen is a tenant on the land and said he does not believe he will be able to reopen on the same site, but he hopes Allen's Coachpainters will remain in the Clayton or Great Harwood area.

Mr Allen, who lives in Spring Hill with his wife Sheila, 62, added: "I picked up the milk this morning and took it down to work as normal before I remembered what had happened.

"It is only just sinking in, it feels like a bereavement."

Mr Allen, who trained as a coachpainter with East Lancashire Coachbuilders in the 1950s, started Allen's Coachpainters at Oakenshaw Trading Estate in 1970.

He added: "We have a large client base and my phone has not stopped ringing since the fire with people wishing me well and offering support.

"That support has made me even more determined to reopen."

Police are investigating the cause of the blaze, which they are treating as suspicious, and Det Insp Ian Critchley has appealed for witnesses to come forward.

To contact Accrington police call 01254 353741 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.