The owners of a chip shop destroyed by arson have spoken for the first time this week about their ordeal and vowed they will not be beaten. They plan to rebuild the shop and be serving fish and chips again by the end of the year.
The insurers of Broseley Chippy this week paid the full cost of building a new shop on the High Street site after forensic tests confirmed the explosion was deliberate.
And owners Mandy and Parmjit Sandhu say the test results will not deter them from returning to the place they regard as their home town.
“We have no enemies and I don’t know who could do this,” said Mandy. “They obviously knew what they were doing, and we are worried, but we are not going to think about it. We are just going to go back and carry on.”
Mandy, who lives in Telford with husband Parmjit, said: “It’s like our home. We spend more time there than we do at home. We know everybody and all our friends are there.
“We miss them all. It has been so strange since it happened and we can’t wait to get back. Obviously we will be having more security - cameras and other things because we want to protect our staff and customers.”
The couple, who had run the shop for four years, said they were ‘deeply shocked’ when the explosion ripped through their shop early one morning in February. They had been unable to make plans for the future until police tests had been completed.
“Someone offered us money for the land but we refused,” said Mandy. “We want to go back there and carry on. Broseley people have supported us through this and we are very grateful.”
Demolition crews will clear the remains of the shop away next week, and plans have been drawn up for a replacement along the lines of the old Broseley Chippy. Builders have also been asked along to survey the site.
Mayor Lynda Garbett said people in the town couldn’t wait for the couple to return.
“We’ve really missed them,” she said. “The children in particular. It doesn’t seem the same without the kids popping in for their cone of chips. It is really good news for Broseley. We are so glad they are coming back.”