Blaze-hit KFC to stay shut until new year

A fast food restaurant along one of Wolverhampton's busiest roads will remain closed until the new year after being badly damaged by fire, it was revealed today.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Customers and staff were evacuated from the KFC restaurant on Penn Road when the severe blaze broke out on Friday afternoon.

Firefighters have spent days sifting through debris in a bid to establish how the blaze started. Today it emerged the outbreak, which destroyed most of the roof, was not being treated as arson.

The blaze caused burning debris and tiles to scatter across the floor. Nine workers and five customers were evacuated before fire crews arrived at around 3pm.

Edward Whitehead, spokesman for KFC, said today: "Our Penn Road restaurant is likely to remain closed until the New Year while we take the opportunity to carry out a full refurbishment.

"We're determined to reopen as soon as possible, and are sorry for the inconvenience this will cause our fans.

"We hope that in the meantime they can visit our store in Bentley Bridge.

"The fire is not being treated as arson, but we are still working to determine the exact cause. We'd like to thank our staff and the fire service again for their swift response."