A COMPANY which suffered a devastating fire last year has celebrated rising from the ashes.

Richmond MP William Hague, the former Tory leader, officially opened the new Northallerton sales centre of North Yorkshire Timber yesterday.

Last October, 56 jobs were put at risk and millions of pounds of damage were caused in a huge blaze in the town.

The fire destroyed the main 35,000sq ft building at the company's 4.6-acre head office, distribution and sales centre at Springwell Lane, Northallerton.

To safeguard jobs, the company redeployed 21 staff to branches at Ripon, Richmond, Middlesbrough and Sunderland while a reduced sales, storage and machining facility continued from the head office site.

But by February this year, a new storage, delivery and fabrication centre had been created in a 120,000sq ft warehouse at Brompton-on-Swale, and the new sales centre at Willow Beck Road had been fitted ready to trade.

Company chairman and co-founder David Cook said: "With this new sales centre, which provides 18,000sq ft of covered sales area, plus significant car parking and external storage, and our new storage, delivery and fabrication centre at Brompton-on-Swale, I'm pleased to say we're back, we're stronger and we're continuing to build the business.

"This is our silver year - our 25th year of trading - and we intend to make it a year to remember."

Mr Hague said: "It is an enormous blow to any business to have such a devastating experience suffered last autumn. To recover from that and have a fully finished building again is a great tribute to everyone who works here. Let us celebrate that resilience and rebounding from disaster."

Turnover is now nearly £10m and the company employs 100 people.