Community 'sad and wounded' by Ancient Market fire

A clean-up is under way after a fire which destroyed a number of stalls at Kingston's Ancient Market, as well as damaging a number of nearby shops.

The Metropolitan Police said the cause of the fire, which started at the south-west London market in the early hours of Tuesday, was not suspicious. London Fire Brigade said the fire was "accidental", but did not provide any further information.

Tim Meads, a fishmonger in the market for 42 years, said: "It's taken everything away from me. Devastating."

His stall is among those damaged, and he fears £2,000 worth of fish stored in the outdoor fridges has been destroyed.

"Hopefully we will rebuild, the town needs us," he said. "At the moment I've lost everything."

Beside the market stalls sits a row of damaged shops.

Zega Coffee is one of them. Its windows have been damaged by the fire, but, unlike some of the other businesses, this one has been able to open.

Vince, a barista there, said: "We are really sad, all the community is wounded by this."

He described his business as "lucky" for "only having cracked windows".

Colin Aldridge-Campbell, who lives above the nearby hairdressers where he also works, recorded footage of the fire from his bedroom window overlooking the market.

He said there was an "orange glow" around his bedroom blind and he looked outside at about 04:40 to see the flames "growing rapidly" and spreading towards nearby buildings.

"By 4:45 the flames were really quite big, you couldn't really see much of the market stores anymore, and it had started to jump across to the buildings opposite," he said.

He said the flames were "reaching up high, to the height of the window of our bedroom, which is the floor above here".

"Obviously I feel really sorry for the traders, I saw one of the traders earlier who was quite emotional and I think it's their livelihood," he said.

"It's hard to know what the timeframe is going to be in rebuilding it."

Anmol Brahmbhatt works by the market and has lived in the area for 26 years.

She arrived for work on Tuesday morning to find the aftermath of the fire.

"It's very upsetting to see," she said.

"Lush has completely gone, it's really sad to see Greggs, Hotter's (shoes), the bureau de change - all of them [are] closed... and the marketplace stalls."

She said the community's thoughts had started to turn to the impact on Christmas.

"There's a lot of speculation whether this can be repaired in time for Christmas or not," Anmol said.

"This market is the heart of Kingston. It's always thriving from the time it opens to the time it closes. It's sad to see that the market stallholders are going to have a loss of earnings due to this, too."

Local window cleaner Gareth said his thoughts turned to relief when he discovered that no-one had been injured.

"It's sad - the smell and devastation," he said.

"The market traders are the ones you've got to feel sorry for, this is their daily bread and butter; God knows what they'll do.

"It's really sad, really sad," he added.

Kingston Council leader Andreas Kirsch said he was "shocked and saddened" by the fire. He said: "The Ancient Market sits at the heart of the community and my thoughts are with the traders, business owners and residents who have been impacted."

He said the council was working with the fire brigade and police to ensure the area was safe and to "prioritise the recovery of our much-loved market".

The Market Place remains cordoned off by police, with businesses within the closed area unable to trade until further notice, the council said.

In January, operator Between the Bridges submitted plans to Kingston Council to revamp the market with replacement stalls, a central piazza, restaurant, bar and roof terrace.

No decision has yet been made on the proposals.

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