MONTHS after a fire tore through a Pontymister factory, residents are calling for the owner to take action in clearing up the remains – but the owner says work is already being done.

The Argus previously reported how the fire, which was started deliberately, ripped through the Old Bakehouse, off Mill Street, on March 30, causing chaos for hundreds of residents.

But now, more than two months after the incident, some residents says they are still suffering with the remains of the building creating an eyesore at their homes.

Jennifer Oliver, who was in one of two households which had to be evacuated following the fire, said a wall owned by Keith Saunders, which faces on to her garden, had to be knocked down during the fire to allow firefighters through.

She said the wall has not been fixed since.

She said: “Wehave to live here. It is an eyesore. I get black dust flying intomyhome and garden from the building.”

Her daughter, Debbie Randall, who lives next door, said she also suffered from black dust being blown over from the site. She said: “We just want answers as to what is going on.”

Gloucestershire-based businessman Mr Saunders, who owns the building, was using it to store white goods waiting to be fixed.

He said he had followed all procedures correctly since the incident.

He said: “I find it extremely offensive that people are saying no work is being done.

“I have cleared hundreds of tonnes of waste away already. It is going to take a lot of time to clear it all as stuff has got to be recycled properly. The building has always been an eyesore. It is not dangerous and there is no ongoing contamination.”

He said he would continue to work on the building in between his work and family commitments but then had plans to sell the site on afterwards and said he had placed a fencing panel by the wall due to the building being likely to be demolished in the future.

Although two arrests have been made since the fire, the people were released without charge.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Gwent Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.