A north-east hotel is about to rise from the ashes – five months after it was extensively damaged in a major blaze.
Bosses at Peterhead’s Waverley Hotel say extensive repairs have been completed and the venue will re-launch on Tuesday, August 5.
A faulty clothes dryer was blamed for sparking the fire earlier this year.
More than 20 guests and staff were forced to flee the Merchant Street building when flames broke out in the basement during the early hours of April 1.
One man was trapped in an upstairs bedroom and had to be led to safety by firefighters.
Last night, a spokeswoman for the hotel said: “Obviously a lot of work needed to be done after the fire. There are still a few small things still to finish off, but we’re very nearly there.
“We’re looking forward to re-opening next month. It should be a busy time for us.”
It is believed an electrical fault in the hotel’s clothes drying area could have triggered the blaze.
A cleaner spotted flames in the downstairs laundry room just after 4am and more than 30 firefighters raced to the scene.
The fire was confined to the basement but thick, black smoke caused extensive damage throughout the three-storey building.
It is understood most of the people staying at the hotel at the time were construction workers. They were offered alternative accommodation at other local hotels.
The man who was rescued from a top floor bedroom, 25-year-old Ross Lumsden, was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and released later in the day after treatment for smoke inhalation.
He was led downstairs by fire crews, because they felt a ladder would have been too risky.
Police later confirmed there was nothing suspicious about the incident.
The venue, which was previously known as St Andrew’s, was sold to its current owner, Stuart Aiken, in 2005.