Staff at The Bell are moved by support after fire

STAFF at the Hungry Horse pub in Yeovil which was gutted by fire at the weekend have taken great comfort in the messages of support they have received from well-wishers.

The pub, better known as The Bell in Preston Road, suffered substantial damage when the fire took hold shortly after 4am on Sunday and it is likely it will be closed for months as work on seeing it rise from the ashes come to fruition.

But staff are determined that The Bell will ring again – thanks to the loyal customer base who have deluged message boards on social networking site Facebook and Twitter with words of support.

Assistant manager Steve Solley said: “The fact that so many people, customers past and present, have stepped forward and offered words of support so readily has made the team feel like they really were a part of the community – that clichéd ‘hub’ that we so often hear about.

“The building itself will sadly never return but the buzz, the atmosphere, the idiosyncrasies and the welcome that seems to have placed ourselves in so many hearts will return bigger and stronger.

“And the reason why that will happen? Because our customers have made us feel that that is what they want.”

Investigations into what caused the blaze are still being carried out by the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.

Pub chain Greene King, which run The Bell, met with staff during a meeting on Monday night to discuss the way forward.

A spokesman said: “We have met with the staff at The Bell and will be working with everyone on an individual basis over the next week to find them alternative local employment within the company where possible.

“We are still determining the extent of the damage caused by the fire at this stage, but we are committed to re-building the Bell.

“It is our intention that all our staff will be able to return to their jobs at the pub when it re-opens.”

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