The owner of a 70-year old Edgware timber yard has vowed to get his business up and running in days after it was destroyed by fire last weekend.

The fire began at around 9.45pm in one corner of the yard, in Barnfield Road, Edgware, last Friday but by the time the fire brigade arrived it had ripped through several stacks of timber and engulfed a 20ft-tall shed.

Owner Jadra Pindoria, 40, arrived soon after the fire brigade to watch his business burn as 40 firemen and eight fire trucks battled with the blaze into the early hours of the morning.

Mr Pindoria said: "It was a massive blaze and it must have been very intense - there was steel in the shed and it has been twisted by the heat.

"It didn't get too high because of the roof but that must have kept the heat in. The fire brigade had hoses on both sides but they said the water pressure is too low so they could only use two.

"I'm going to get it up and running in the next few days. I don't want my customers going elsewhere."

Mr Pindoria remained at the yard throughout the night and the following day and helped the fire brigade sift through the remains using his fork-lift truck.

Water used to put out the fire also drenched the shop and office in the yard, which escaped the worst of the fire, ruining a new computer Mr Pindoria bought last week.

The fire brigade are currently investigating the cause of the fire.