A town centre pub has reopened after being refurbished due to a devastating fire last October.

Lowestoft Journal: Bayfields pub on High Street, Lowestoft has re-opened after a recent fire. Andrina Lavery (manager) and Dean Smith (bar staff)Bayfields pub on High Street, Lowestoft has re-opened after a recent fire. Andrina Lavery (manager) and Dean Smith (bar staff)

The landlord of the Bayfields Bar and Hotel, David Field and his team, were putting the final touches of a refurbishment to a remaining bedroom, when the blaze broke out.

But despite having seen his plans initially destroyed, Mr Field was determined to get the 19th century Victorian hotel and public bar back to its former glory and paid out to refurbish the pub once again.

'It was a nightmare,' he said. 'I have been through a lot of drama. It has cost me a lot of money as I only had structural insurance and didn't have content insurance, so I had to buy things again.

'The whole place was totally burnt out and as a result, I had to do everything from scratch to an even higher standard.

'It is going to take a long time to get the money back again and it hasn't benefitted me, as it has cost a lot of money to re-do the place.'

The three-storey structure is surrounded by a mixture of shops, houses and flats in the historic High Street area of Lowestoft.

Mr Field, who also owns a pub in Northampton, will work alongside manager Andrina Lavery having taken on the pub in September of last year.

The complete refurbishment of the 10-bedroom ensuite hotel rooms and bar area means that the pub staff are keen to attract new customers as well as some of the regulars.

'We want to keep everyone happy and get some of the old customers back in. It used to be busy up here so we want to encourage them back.

'It is picking up slowly and there are a lot of people who have said that they didn't know that we were re-opening and we are looking to appeal to as many people as possible.

'There will be live music, pool, darts, bands, DJ's and we have started doing Sunday dinners and evening food', Mr Field added.

The upstairs rooms also contain one self contained flat which Mr Field will be using for holiday lets.

Dean Smith, who works behind the bar said: 'I am happy that it has reopened as it is a nice pub.

'The customers are glad and it is good to see the smiles back on their faces when they come in.'

The Bayfields staff would like to place on record their thanks to everyone who have supported them in getting the pub back on track.

Do you have a pub story? Email: joe.randlesome@archant.co.uk