THE landlord of a picturesque village pub gutted by fire has vowed to re-open as soon as possible.

North Curry's Bird in Hand was packed when a member of staff spotted smoke billowing from the roof at 9.25pm last Thursday.

Licensee James Mogg this week said: "The chef, who had only started on Monday, and waitress were still working in the kitchen and I had to get them out.

"I'm not sure where the fire started.

"The bar and old part of the pub at the front is fine, although it is dirty, but the kitchen is wrecked and the roof is damaged."

Mr Mogg added: "There's no other pub open in the village at the moment, so we want to re-open quickly."

For more on this story and to read how one regular supped up before leaving, see Thursday's Somerset County Gazette.