Owner of newly refurbished hotel in Fife watched 'for hours' as it burned to the ground

The owner of a newly-refurbished hotel in Fife, which was destroyed by a huge fire, says he watched for hours as it burned to the ground.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was called to reports of a fire at St Michael’s Inn near Leuchars around 10pm on Tuesday.

At the height of the blaze, nine fire engines and four specialist resources worked to bring the incident under control.

Images of the aftermath show the building’s roof caved in, with much of the building reduced to rubble.

There were no reported casualties.

The hotel’s owner, Graham Bradley, says he was there until 4am and watched as it burned to the ground.

The family business employs 20 staff, with only some able to be moved to other venues.

He told STV News: “It’s very hard for me to see it like this. When I took it over, it was in a poor state, and we’ve completely modernised it.

“I spent £100,000 on the refurb. There is tens of thousands of pounds worth of stock as well, just gone up in flames.

“I’m still in shock.”

He added: “It’s hard to describe what I saw. I was thinking more about the staff. The building is bricks and mortar, it can be rebuilt and repaired.

“It looks to me like it’s gone too far, and it will be demolished.”

Police say the fire is not being treated as suspicious.

Huge fire rips through newly refurbished hotel

Emergency services remain on the scene at St Michael’s Inn in Fife

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