Millions spent to restore museum

More than 120 firefighters tackled the flames

Around £20m has been spent on rebuilding the National Motorcycle Museum following a devastating fire exactly a year ago.

Four hundred motorbikes and 80% of the building in Bickenhill, Solihull, were destroyed in the fire, which was started by a discarded cigarette.

The museum did not have a sprinkler system at the time of the fire but £1m has now been spent on installing one.

The building is due to reopen to the public on 1 December.

Rare exhibits

Up to 100 new bikes have been bought and some machines which were damaged are being restored.

Fire investigators said the cigarette which started the fire had been dropped into a box of air conditioning filters outside the building.

More than 120 firefighters tackled the fire, on 16 September 2003, which could be seen 15 miles away.

The bikes destroyed in the collection traced the history of the British motorcycle industry and many of the museum's rarest exhibits were lost.

But the destruction could have been worse because scores of bikes were pushed to safety by staff.

The museum, which originally opened in 1984, had just over 800 bikes before the fire.

It will have around 650 when it reopens,