A restaurant has reopened after it was forced to shut  in the summer after devastating fire damage caused when a building next door went up in flames.

Ikram's Spice House on Chorley Old Road, Bolton, was caught up in the blaze on August 31 when it broke out at 3am which broke out at the next door unoccupied property.

Eight fire engines were mobilised and tackled the blaze  staying on the scene throughout the day.  The  takeaway was completely gutted and burnt out.

Now, owner Bodrul Haq has spoken about the months of work to re-open it.

Mr Haq said he was even forced to work odd jobs to make ends meet after the fire meant nobody could work until this month.

The Bolton News: Bodrul Haq at Ikram's Spice House

He said: “It was very heartbreaking to see what had happened, and it was difficult to get it back up and running.

“There was a lot of water damage as well and they had to disconnect the electricity supply.

“We pretty much had to do everything all over again.”

The restaurant fire came as a shock to Mr Haq, who found out through a neighbour what had happened.

Following the fire, Mr Haq said he was left out of pocket and was working for a taxi firm.

He said: All the stock went off and was ruined so that cost the business, it cost thousands of pounds to re-open.

The Bolton News: Bodrul Haq at Ikram's Spice House

“The staff members had a hard time being off work, and the customers were asking when we would re-open because they missed our food.”

As Ikram’s Spice House reopened this week, Mr Haq said nothing about the quality and taste had changed.

He said: “What has changed is how much we appreciate our business, and we will always do our best to satisfy our customers.

“This was a difficult time financially and it was a stressful time as it was a source of income to put food on the table.

“I have been working as a taxi driver and a delivery driver for other restaurants in the meantime.”