A PUB owner who was inside when his pub went up in flames has thanked customers and residents for their support.

Kevin Vinter woke up to find the Queen’s Hotel Pub in Berehcurch Road, Colchester, was alight at 2am on November 10.

He said his dog, Babs, a basset and sharpei cross, had alerted him by enthusiastically jumping off the bed in the room above the pub.

He tried to go downstairs after hearing a noise, but smelt smoke and asked a friend to call the fire service.

He grabbed a fire extinguisher and cleared the way.

Police said the fire was started deliberately by arsonists.

Mr Vinter said: “I was watching TV upstairs and Babs started getting edgy, I thought she wanted to go out to the toilet.

“I got half way down the stairs and smelt smoke.”

The fire service said the ground floor fire had caused the pub to fill with smoke.

It is not certain how much the repairs will cost at this point, but Mr Vinter said a lot of the furniture he bought was already fire-proof.

He said: “I’ve been in this game too long so everything I put in was fire-proof, when you have the public around you all the time it needs to be safe. Me being optimistic I look at it and it doesn’t seem too bad, but I’m not an electrician and I don’t know if the cables have been damaged.

“I can’t operate from the pub at the moment as there’s no power. “ But a defiant Mr Vinter said: “These people will not break me, we will be open again as soon as is humanly possible.

“A couple of windows were damaged and the door, part of the bar and the ceiling - also the fruit machines and pool table.”

Mr Vinter first opened the pub in January, after six weeks of renovation.

He hopes to get back into the property as soon as possible, as gangs are using the empty building as a target.

It was broken into on Sunday but nothing was taken and the building is fully secure.

Mr Vinter said: “I just want to thank everyone for their messages of support and wellwishing.

I want to start living my life again.”

Police are still investigating.