Five trapped in blaze drama
Five people were trapped in their flats and an entire hotel was evacuated after a devastating fire ripped through a Kidderminster card-making and crafts shop.
The blaze took hold of The Treasury at 4.45am yesterday, trapping residents of nearby flats. They had to be rescued by firefighters using ladders.
Couples and families staying in the nearby Lion Hotel, some of whom were in their dressing gowns, were also evacuated.
At the height of the inferno, 75 firefighters from Worcestershire and the West Midlands battled at the scene in Coventry Street to prevent the flames spreading to dozens of other premises.
Today Brian Murdoch, the owner of most of the shops and offices in the complex, said damage was expected to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Residents Lucy Maund, aged 34, and partner Jason Newell, aged 33, were woken just before 5am and looked out of their flat to see flames reflected in the glass of buildings across the road.
Jason, aged 33, said: "We just had to get out. We heard an explosion of glass and could smell something burning and saw the ground floor was on fire.
"I shut the windows to stop the smoke coming in and a few minutes later, the whole of the front of the shop was in flames."
Girlfriend Lucy, who is recovering from surgery, said: "We make computerised music and have lost 10 years work and our music gear. We have lost several thousands pounds of keyboards, synthesisers and computers."
The Treasury runs card-making courses for people including cancer patients. Owners Pat and David Onslow-Jones today told of their devastation.
