Work starts on fire wreck museum

The new museum is due to re-open in December

Work has started to rebuild the National Motorbike Museum four months after a huge fire destroyed it.

The devastating fire destroyed much of the world famous collection and caused damage put at £14m.

Flames, caused by a discarded cigarette, ripped through the five halls of the museum at Bickenhill in Solihull on 16 September.

The new museum, which is due to re-open in December, includes a £1m sprinkler system.

Thriving industry

Only 250 of the 900 bikes on display survived.

The museum's owner Roy Richards said it was his duty to rebuild the site.

"The acquisition of machines has been most successful but quite a number of the famous machines have gone away for rebuilding," he said.

"Albeit it will cost an enormous sum of money to rebuild them they were so famous it's our duty to do it if its humanly possible."

The museum was founded as a permanent reminder of the days when the UK had a thriving motorcycle industry.