A BAKERY firm has announced plans to rebuild its plant which was destroyed in an arson attack earlier this year.

Peters Cathedral Bakers, which has 71 shops and 700 employees across the North-East, said that work would begin on the site at Dragonville Industrial Estate, in Durham City, next month.

April's fire - the second at the bakery in a year - forced the family firm to close its shops for a month while it set up a temporary bakery in the former Hibernia Foods factory, in Peterlee, so it could resume production.

The firm said the £3.5m bakery, designed by Dewjoc Architects and built by Mansell Construction Services, should be ready by next summer.

It put up a £10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the arsonists, but so far no one has been charged.

Police interviewed 69 people, including all the workers on shift when the blaze happened, and one man was arrested but released without charge.

Acting Detective Chief Inspector Mick Nail said: "We established that the fire was started deliberately and I believe it may have been someone who was acting alone who didn't necessarily intend to burn down the premises, but may have intended to disrupt production on that day. Inquiries are still continuing.''

Managing director Richard Knowles said: "Starting from scratch has enabled us to design a first- class facility based on some of the most modern bakery equipment available, which we have been sourcing worldwide over the past few months."

Eddie Tribe, contracts manager with Mansell Construction Services, said the building would consist of one large and heavily serviced steel frame production building with a two-storey office block.

The bakers started in 1966 with one shop in the Belmont area of Durham, but in the 2002/2003 financial year had a turnover of £13m.

Anyone with information about the blaze is asked to call Durham City CID on 0191-386 4222. They can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.