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THE joint owner of the fire-ravaged Woolpack pub at Sopley has promised it will be open again as soon as possible.

Di Hankins, who runs the historic pub with sister Jo, said: "We've had fires and floods before and we've been up and running in a day.

"Obviously this is worse, but we will be open again as soon as possible."

The thatched roof of the picturesque pub by the bridge at Sopley was seen blazing by an alert driver who raised the alarm on Thursday afternoon.

Staff attempted to douse the flames with a garden hose and fire extinguishers until fire crews from Christchurch arrived on the scene.

At the height of the blaze there were 60 firefighters from Dorset and Hampshire at the incident.

Fire damage was mainly confined to the roof, though the flat and bars below were badly water damaged.

Di Hankins said she and staff were up until 6am yesterday, salvaging furniture and personal belongings from the flat.

Yesterday morning tarpaulins and plastic had been put in place on the roof to protect the remains of the building from the heavy rain that was falling.

Builders were on site and the remains of the thatch pulled from the roof by the firefighting teams was piled high in the car park.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service says a spark from the woodburner stove is thought to have set light to the thatch.

It is one of the most common causes of thatch fires. Others are faulty flues, electrical faults, lightning strikes, discarded cigarettes and garden bonfires.

Incident Commander Group Manager Dave Lock said: "The crews made valiant attempts to prevent the fire spreading by removing sections of the thatched roof.

"A thatched roof is always at risk from fire and once a fire has taken hold in a thatch it will spread rapidly.

"This incident would have been far worse had crews not acted so quickly and efficiently in conducting early salvage operations."

The 18th century hostelry has hosted many famous customers over the years.

Sir Winston Churchill and the American President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, visited during the Second World War, while Greta Garbo is also said to have also stopped there for a drink.

7:00am Saturday 29th March 2008

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