After nearly nine months, a popular fish and chip shop is ready to reopen after it was destroyed by a fire.
Woody's Fish Bar, on Church Street in Attleborough, was gutted after a blaze ripped through it at the end of February. An upstairs flat, which is separate to the shop, was also damaged.
Bruno Oliveira, who had worked in the shop between 2008 and 2012 and who will be running the shop when it reopens on Saturday, has praised the support of the town.
He said: 'We will be giving away 100 portions of chips for free as a thank you for the support.
'The support from the town has been unreal. We knew a lot of people would support us but not with that much impact. If we go outside, people ask when it is going to open and they just cannot wait.'
On Saturday, February 27, Cenk Yildiz – who has owned the shop since 2008 – and his wife Gulseven were in the shop serving customers.
At about 6pm, people said they could smell smoke and within minutes flames were present and the fire took hold.
Fire investigators have been unable to determine the cause of the fire and where it started.
Mr Oliveira said he was at home eating dinner when the fire happened.
'By the time I had walked to the shop, it had gone,' he said. 'The fire service were just unreal with the support they gave, and the police officers.
'It was devastating, especially for Cenk and his wife.'
The shop will reopen at 12pm on Saturday and will feature a few changes. There is a different layout inside the shop, the opening hours have been extended and there is a fresh fish counter and kebabs will be sold.
'They say bad things bring good things,' said Mr Oliveira. 'We are trying to use products – meat, fish and bread – which are local.
'We always said no matter how long it was going to take, we are going to open. We need to open. It has been long and hard but it's worth the wait.
'Once we see the people come through the door it will feel back to normal.'
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