Stunned Laurie Rowe watched helplessly as his shop was destroyed in a blaze so fierce it melted parts of a car on the other side of the road.
Shock - owner Laurie Rowe at the fire scene today Picture: NICK ANSELL
A couple were lucky to escape with their lives from a flat above the shop in Queens Road, Southend, as the fire wrecked the furniture business early today.
Mr Rowe, 77, who has owned the premises for 34 years, was told about the fire by friends at 3am. He rushed to the building to check his tenants had escaped.
He said: "It's a huge shock. Everything went up in flames. I feel terribly sorry for my tenants. The man's father was seriously ill and he was going back to see him in Italy. "
Published Thursday July 1, 2004
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