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[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

Blaze destroyed antiques worth £250,000 
 August 30, 2005
  

ANTIQUE dealers today estimated more than £250,000 of goods had been
destroyed in a mystery blaze in Glasgow.

Fire investigators are still trying to establish the cause of the fire which
razed the Antiques Warehouse at Yorkhill Quay to the ground.

More than 50 firefighters battled to get the blaze under control and stop it
spreading to the Tall Ship, the Glenlee.

Around 25 traders rented showroom space in the 50,000sq ft warehouse - a
favourite with antiques enthusiasts all over the city.

Traders, some of whom were not insured, have been left devastated by the
fire, which destroyed their livelihoods in a few hours.

One of them, Jim Donegan, manager of Flying Dutchman Antiques, had been
trading in Glasgow for 10 years.

He said: "We have lost thousands of pounds of antiques but we were insured.

"It is probably around £250,000 but it could be more. You have not only just
lost the antiques, you've lost the potential to sell them, the money that
goes into cleaning up the antiques, the cost of shipping them."

Flying Dutchman Antiques is owned by dealer Hannie van Riel and included Art
Deco furniture from all over Europe.

Mr Donegan found out about the fire by text on Saturday morning as he was
getting ready to go to to work from his home in Erskine.

He said: "We thought 'there is still going to be something left' but it was
100% destroyed. 

"Some of the dealers weren't insured. One owner had recently cancelled his
insurance because the business wasn't doing too well. A lot of the
businesses won't recover."

Neighbouring firms such as CRR Truck Rental and Scottish City Link had
recently left units ahead of the warehouse's demolition to make way for a
new transport museum.

Central Demolition had already begun bulldozing at the opposite end of the
site from the antiques warehouse.

A spokesman for site owners Clydeport said today: "The incident is the
subject of a police and fire brigade investigation. We are just relieved
no-one was hurt."