Berwyn Bookshop: New business opens after fire wrecked stock

"We just sort of fell into it and realised, 'Well, we've got this far, why not?'" says Emma Littler, co-owner of The Berwyn Bookshop

A new business has risen from the ashes of a book shop which closed after a blaze destroyed more than £1m of stock.

Berwyn Books and the Cheshire Book Centre lost 400,000 books after fire took hold of the second hand store.

After the owner decided to step back from the business staff decided to relaunch as The Berwyn Bookshop.

They are holding their first book launch at the new store in Mynydd Isa, Flintshire, with Wrexham author Simon McCleave.

He will be discussing his new novel, The Chirk Castle Killings.

Customer Danielle Henson visits the store with four-year-old daughter Paige

Many precious books were lost when fire ripped through two warehouses last November, including a book signed by Queen Victoria.

The decision by some employees to relaunch was taken, they said, to repay customers awaiting orders before the fire.

"We had no choice but to be contactable and then it just progressed," co-owner Emma Littler said.

"We had, in effect, lost our jobs so it kept us busy. At that time I don't think restarting was necessarily the plan.

"We just sort of fell into it and realised, 'Well, we've got this far, why not?'"

More than £1m of stock was destroyed when fire destroyed Berwyn Books and the Cheshire Book Centre

Caffi Isa in Mynydd Isa offered space for the new store and donations of books flooded in: so far 90,000 have been sent.

They were stacked in staff garages and conservatories until the new place was ready.

Customer Danielle Henson, visiting the store with her four-year-old daughter Paige, said: "We browse everything.

"The new books, the old books, the kids' books. We just mooch around."