Alan Thompson NEIGHBOURING traders of spoken about how sorry they were for the owner of an ice cream and snack bar which was burnt out last week.Fire started in Peppino's in Regent Road, Great Yarmouth at around 5am on Tuesday last week and 133 people, many elderly, were evacuated from the nearby New Beach Hotel on Marine Parade.

Alan Thompson

NEIGHBOURING traders of spoken about how sorry they were for the owner of an ice cream and snack bar which was burnt out last week.

Fire started in Peppino's in Regent Road, Great Yarmouth at around 5am on Tuesday last week and 133 people, many elderly, were evacuated from the nearby New Beach Hotel on Marine Parade.

On Wednesday this week, the snack bar was still boarded up.

Rosemary Hill from Bags Galore said: “The owner is such a nice man and I feel so sorry for him. This is a blow to everyone here. We used to get the marvellous hot chocolate drinks, no-one made them like he did.”

Another neighbouring shop owner, said: “We were regular customers there. When we came in on Tuesday morning last week, we couldn't open up initially as the area had been sealed off. But the police did let us through later and when I saw the inside of the café, it was just one long black hole. It is such a pity and I certainly hope he is able to open up again.”

Norfolk Fire Service spokesman Martin Barsby said the fire had been caused by an electrical fault in the wiring of the café's ceiling. As a result, the ground floor suffered fire damage and smoke logging while a neighbouring three storey building was also smoke logged.

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