TWO years ago Alfred Grove and Sons DIY shop was gutted by a fire that was never solved.

Now the 350-year-old family firm has risen like a phoenix from the ashes and its managing director said it is stronger than ever.

There was shop staged a “grand opening” for its bright, new modern shop on Saturday (may2) but managing director Russell Hawtin will never forget the destruction he witnessed.

The company traces its roots back to the 1660s and has been on the site in Milton-under-Wychwood since then, the village growing around it.

But shortly after 5am on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, a woman who worked for a neighbouring business came into work early, smelled smoke and called 999.

Six fire crews, paramedics and police were sent to the village and Shipton Road was closed to traffic until 10am.

A total of 35 firefighters battled to douse the blaze throughout that day and it was left a charred shell.

Mr Hawtin, 45, who has been MD for six years, said: “The fire destroyed the shop in its entirety.

“There must have been half-a-dozen fire engines there throughout the day.

“The fact that we were stocked with spirits and chemicals certainly didn’t help – the paint and decorating area was just more flammable.”

He said the cause of the fire was never conclusively found, but added: “It was quite an elderly building anyway. We had been on the site so long – the shop had evolved from a store to a DIY shop for the general public and local companies.”

The business, which also does construction, was back on its feet and trading within a week and soon re-opened a shop in a portable cabin. The shell of the old shop was demolished but before rebuilding, managers thought carefully about their options.

Mr Hawtin said: “It took us a while to decide what to do - we wanted to make something good out of something bad.”

The shop had always been single-storey and the firm had had its office next door.

When they knew they had to rebuild anyway, they decided to upgrade and get themselves a two-storey building, with a shop below and an office above.

Mr Hawtin said: “That is why it has taken a bit longer. We wanted to make things better.”

The company, he said, paid “substantially more” than the insurance they claimed for the old building.

The new shop has been open since February and Mr Hawtin said initial trade was encouraging. He said: “We are pleased with the way things are going. We never stopped trading but we lost custom so we’ve gone bigger and better.”

“We have been in the village so long the village is almost built around the company, it is part of the community and in that respect people missed it when it wasn’t there.”