Town 'will bounce back' from fire

The cause of the fire is still being investigated by officials

Businesses affected by a huge fire which destroyed part of a Lincolnshire town's seafront will "bounce back", officials have said.

More than 100 firefighters used water from swimming pools to tackle the blaze in Skegness on Thursday.

Bars, an amusement arcade and a number of stalls were destroyed, as well as damage to surrounding buildings.

East Lindsey District Council has said the resort could expect its help in recovering from the incident.

The Bola Brothers - who own much of the site that was destroyed - have said they will need a lot of support from local councils and the public if they are to rebuild.

They are resilient and so is the business community Councillor Dick Edgington

Councillor Dick Edgington, deputy leader of East Lindsey District Council, promised everything possible would be done to get the resort back on its feet.

"The Skegness business community are very resilient, they will bounce back," he said.

"We have lost important facilities here and - bearing in mind it has only recently been renovated - we have great sympathies for the owners of these facilities.

"Nevertheless they are resilient and so is the business community. Something better will come on that site."

He added: "The business community needs the support of the local authority and East Lindsey District Council will hopefully look at this in a sympathetic way."

Police said the fire was still being treated as suspicious, but investigations would take some time because of the extent of the damage.