A BUILDING that was badly damaged in a huge fire has been condemned and will be demolished.

The fire, at Daly Plastics recycling plant, at the Horwich Loco Works, was tackled by more than 40 firefighters at its height.

But owner Simon Daly is refusing to the let the blow halt his business and his company was close to securing new premises.

The company, founded by Simon and his brother Phillip, in 2010, recycles existing plastic products into new ones and had been doing so well that the brothers were considering expansion, before the devastating blaze.

The fire broke out inside the building on February 27.

Mr Daly said he still does not know the cause of the fire and has yet to hear from his insurance company.

He is, however, close to securing new premises — an essential move to keep the firm in business.

Mr Daly said: “The thing is, we have to be quick because we have a major client who won’t wait around.

“I have seven men who work for me and the priority is to try and keep them in work and allow them to keep paying their mortgages and providing for their families, so we have been working 12 hour days to make things happen and we are hoping to confirm the new place this week.”

Before the fire, the successful company was making £600,000 a year and Mr Daly said the aim is to get back to that stage.

He added: “We know it is going to take time — we are aiming to get back to that sort of position within a year.”

When the blaze broke out, people living close were told to keep their windows and doors closed as the fire involved a large amount of plastic and was giving off a lot of smoke.

The fire service is still investigating the cause of the blaze.