Florist shop in Belper ravaged by fire

A florist was left devastated after a fire ripped through her store last Saturday morning, with the business now having to be run from home.

Christine Whitworth had kept Dial-a-Flower, located on King Street in the Derbyshire town, going for eight years but the blaze has caused extensive damage to the inside of the building.

It took around 30 firefighters to get the fire under control when they were called to the scene at around 9am, with smoke causing further problems for two nearby properties.

The fire may have been started by an electrical heater.

As she arrived at the store, Mrs Whitworth explained what she saw:

“I didn’t see any flames, just a lot of smoke but there must have been flames because the back of the shop is really badly damaged.

“I am just absolutely devastated. It is such a shock.

“Thank goodness it was not in the middle of the night otherwise it could have caused a lot more damage.

“All the accounts were in the shop but luckily I know most of my customers so, hopefully, I will be able to contact them. I will just have to try and do everything from home.”

Paul Sharp, watch manager at Nottingham Road fire station, said that the fire crews may have been alerted sooner if the premises had been fitted with a smoke alarm.