A NEWPORT man is vowing to rebuild his business after fire destroyed it with the loss of thousands of pounds worth of stock.

The storage part of Able Jacks DIY Warehouse in Pill was gutted by the blaze, which firefighterssuspect was started deliberately.

The damage was so severe the building was demolished yesterday afternoon for safety reasons.

Residents were woken by loud bangs at 2.20am yesterday morning as tiles burst from the roof of the 30,000 sq ft Mill Parade building, used for manufacturing and storing kitchens.

Flames were coming through the roof when firefighters reached the scene minutes later.

The owner, Andrew Powell, 37, from Newport, bought the business inNovember for hundreds of thousands of pounds after working there for 20 years. He employs 20 people.

"This is a run-down area," he said. "You try and do what you can to bring jobs in, then something like this happens.

"But we're going to get it back up and running as soon as possible. I'd like to reassure people we'll still be open for business, as this was the storage area."

He said the fire destroyed expensive machinery and kitchens stored before delivery. He is assessing the worth of the lost stock, which was fully insured, but says it will be thousands of pounds.

Sub-officer Alan Francis, of Maindee fire station, said more than 40 firefighters from six stations battled the blaze throughout the night.

"It was just a case of containing the fire because we knew when we got here the building was lost," he said.

"The biggest danger was that it would collapse and fall on us."

The fire continued burning until after 12pm.

Sub-officer Russel Johns said the fire was being treated as suspicious because there were signs the back door had been forced - thebuilding was broken into during the night.

It was built around 100 years ago as a carpentry workshop for the dry docks.

Mr Powell said: "This is a very sad day. Part of Newport's history has been lost."

Mr Powell and Helen Thomas-Parry bought the businessfrom Bill Richards, who stepped down after 48 years. Mr Richards, from Maindee, had taken over the company at the age of 15. He remains in aconsultancy role.

Debra Lewis, who lives on neighbouring Alexandra Street, rang the fire brigade after she was awoken by loud bangs.

"I hope it doesn't become another eyesore for Pill," she said.