'We are very lucky nobody was injured," says owner after Inverness fish and chip van is destroyed by blaze
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An Inverness business owner saw his only source of income destroyed after a blaze took hold of his fish and chip van yesterday afternoon.
Yesterday afternoon Paul Burnside (59), owner of the popular Fish and Chip Van, was at his home in Smithton when he heard someone banging at his door at around 3.30pm.
A fire had started inside the van, which was then parked in his driveway, and took hold of it very quickly.
Mr Burnside said he is lucky that no one got hurt as the flames were promptly tackled by firefighters.
"The whole thing is totally destroyed. We are fortunate that no one was hurt, it could have been a lot worse. The fire brigade were here very quickly, so they stopped the fire from extending to the house.
"We can't praise them enough."
Mr Burnside, a former head chef at the Classroom in Nairn, started trading with the van over three years ago serving fish and chips around the Inverness area, serving also parts of Nairnshire and North Kessock.
"There is not much else I can do at the moment, it's just a waiting game. I'll have to wait Monday to phone the insurance and the council because my traders' license was also in the van. It's all gone now.
"It's not the best situation particularly at this time of the year. But we are very lucky nobody was injured and there could have been a lot more damage to the house."
He added he is confident that the insurance will be covering the damages and he hopes to return to trade as soon as possible.
The community and customers took on social media to support Mr Burnside – more than 180 people commented in his post on social media wishing him well and also suggesting to set up a community crowdfunder.
