A BAKER whose factory was destroyed by fire has risen from the ashes to more than double in size.

Pie producer Tindale and Stanton (T&S) has bought the Bakehouse Craft bakery, in Gateshead, as a replacement for its bread plant in Stanley, County Durham, which was gutted by a blaze in February.

David Pearson, T&S managing director, said: "Our original intention was to rebuild where we were, but this has worked out better for all involved."

Tindale laid off 30 workers after flames tore through its bread bakery at the Hobson Industrial Estate, Burnopfield, on February 10.

Firefighters were able to prevent the flames from spreading to the pie plant next door, which employs 270 people.

The company outsourced its bread making to Bakehouse Craft in order to avoid losing customers.

"In this business, winning back a customer is very hard work, so we didn't want to let anybody down," said Mr Pearson.

"We had to plug the gap in our product range, but buying them in and selling them on was not sustainable.

"We were losing a lot of money and needed to get our own products back to our customers as quickly as possible."

All 30 workers from the old T&S plant have been taken on at the Gateshead site, where they will join 60 Bakehouse staff.

"A lot of our staff are from the Gateshead area in any case, so it has worked out well for them," said Mr Pearson.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, came about after Bakehouse owner Fred Wake, 57, announced his retirement.

"This was an established business with products we could sell on very quickly," said Mr Pearson.

Mr Wake set up the family firm in 1972, with a shop in Whitehall Road and a bakery in Saltwell Road. It moved to a bigger bakery in Saltmeadows Road in 1990.

Under the deal, he and wife Sandra, 53, will keep the retail part of the business - three shops in Gateshead.

Their son, Simon, will spend six months helping Tindale absorb the bakery's wholesale and manufacturing operation, which has more than 200 clients and a turnover of about £1.5m.