Business is forced to close by cannabis fire in Charles Street, Leicester

THE SCENE: The burnt-out flat on Monday that was being used as a cannabis factory on Charles Street, in Leicester city centre

A business owner has been left devastated following a flat fire which has forced him to close for several weeks.

The Nook Newsagency, in Charles Street, is "totally waterlogged" following firefighters' efforts to extinguish the flames at the flat above the premises.

The second-floor flat was being used to grow about 30 cannabis plants, police confirmed following the blaze on Monday.

Harj Khera, joint owner of The Nook, said the fire would have a devastating effect on the business.

"When we arrived on Monday morning it was just devastation - it looked like a bomb had hit it," he said.

"All of the magazines and newspapers have been destroyed, not to mention the fridges and the floors.

"It was a lot worse than we thought it was going to be."

Harj and his business partner, Davinder Gill, who rent the property, said they would have to close for at least three weeks due to the damage from smoke and water.

Mr Khera said: "This is our livelihood. We are not happy - it is extra stress that we don't need.

"It is going to take a lot of hard work to get the shop back up and running. We are so annoyed."

Mr Khera said he was horrified to discover cannabis was being grown in the flat.

"We had absolutely no idea what was going on upstairs," he said.

Mr Kehra and Mr Gill are waiting to meet with their insurance company and the owners of the building to discuss how much the damage will cost.

Neighbouring business Unity Hairdressers, which was closed yesterday, had also been severely damaged.

Sandwich takeaway shop Love2Lunch, another nearby business, was able to reopen yesterday lunchtime after being closed throughout the day on Monday.

The owner, who did not want to be named, said that although the store suffered some damage he was "lucky" that it was not worse.

"All businesses struggle," he said. "Even just having to close for a day-and-a-half was bad enough, we just didn't need it. We don't want to be losing money.

"I'm angry, of course I'm angry."

The fire broke out at the flat, which is close to the junction with Humberstone Gate, shortly after 3am on Monday.

A Leicestershire Fire Service spokeswoman said that the cause of the fire was still under investigation yesterday.

A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Police said the force was investigating the blaze.

Officers are appealing to anyone who has any information about the blaze, or the cannabis, to call them on 101.

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk 09/07/2014