A DEVASTATED factory owner watched his family business go up in flames on his 53rd birthday.

Steve Whatmough, owner of woodworking business, Wooton & Co Ltd, Partridge Hill, Padiham, estimates that the blaze on Monday night destroyed up to £40,000 worth of stock.

But today he vowed that his 25 employees would not lose their jobs and the business would be back up and running, saying: "We are a close team. We can pull together and make it work."

Mr Whatmough, rushed to the factory, which also used to house sister company Trafalgar Beds, with wife Susan, hoping it was a small fire. But the couple arrived to find the roof ablaze.

Eight fire crews tackled the fire for two hours before it was under control.

They were still examining the scene this morning, before demolition work could take place.

Dave Jackson, assistant divisional officer at Burnley fire station, said: "We are not treating it as suspicious at this stage. The damage is so extensive that we will be investigating for some time before we can decide on a cause."

Mr Whatmough, of Todmorden Road, had worked at Wooton Ltd for 25 years and bought out the owner 10 years ago.

He said: "It was made worse because we have worked so hard for so long and we saw it all going up in smoke when we could do nothing. We have lost everything.

"The main problem is the contacts books, we can't even ring people to let them know what has happened."

Mrs Whatmough, 51, added: "I have cried but now we are just keeping smiling. We have to to carry on."