Holland-on-Sea pub struck by lightning reopens after refurb

A pub severely damaged in a fire caused by a lightning strike has reopened.

The Grade II-listed Oakwood Inn in Holland-on-Sea, Essex, caught alight on 20 June last year.

Landlady Lauren Sutherland said refurbishments, which included repairing the pub's entire roof, took about eight months to complete.

Ms Sutherland, whose wife and seven-month-old son were in the building at the time of the blaze, said builders had done "a remarkable job".

The mother-of-two said: "I'm a little bit nervous but excited as well. It's been a long time.

"Up until October we could still see the sky [inside the pub] and I was looking at it thinking, how are we going to get there?"

Due to the building being listed, there were "many obstacles" to pass during the renovation, she said.

Ms Sutherland said she thought of the pub as a person, because it had been part of her life since she was a child.

"She really does mean so much to me," she said.

"I moved to the area when I was eight. My parents owned the pub before I bought the lease from them.

"She's been my safe place for a long, long time. I feel me and the Oakwood, we have a story, a history."

Ms Sutherland said when the lightning strike happened she "felt like I let her down, I couldn't save her".

However, following the refurbishment, Ms Sutherland said the pub still had all the old character, but with "a bit of a facelift".

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