PUBLICAN Donal O'Dwyer, who suffered more than a year of disasters after buying a 16th century coaching inn in Calne in November 2002, is finally able to enjoy the newly refurbished business.

Mr O'Dwyer bought the White Hart Hotel in London Road for £500,000 and spent more than £100,000 on refurbishment.

But less than a month later on Christmas Eve the pub was burgled and stock taken.

No sooner had he got over this, when in February a blaze swept through the pub badly damaging the new bar, dining room and cellar, and leaving the rest of the building smoke damaged.

Assistant manager Kelly Wiggins, 23, was hailed a heroine when she rescued sleeping guests from the blaze. Six fire crews attended and helped rescue two of the guests, who had climbed out on to the hotel's porch.

Fire investigators suspected the fire may have started from the hotel's electrical input box in the cellar. There had been a power cut in the town earlier that evening and they thought a power surge may have triggered the blaze.

The insurance company, however, insisted on a full investigation into the cause of the fire, so Mr O'Dwyer had no alternative but to keep the hotel closed for nearly three months.

He spent £100,000 of his own cash refurbishing the pub for a second time raising the money by putting his own home up as security. He said he had no choice but to keep investing or risk losing everything.

But disaster struck again days before the hotel's reopening in August when thieves swiped booze and cigarettes, and the next day also made off with Mr O'Dwyer's van parked outside. But the publican refused to be daunted and

remained determined the historic pub would become an integral part of Calne's community once more.

He said: "2003 was the worst year in my life, I lost my girlfriend and I nearly lost my house. I think the lowest point was when the insurance company sent in forensics experts to check if the fire was arson.

"For three months every time I walked down the street people would say 'it's terrible what's happened to you,' and when you hear it 50 times a day it tends to make you feel down.

"I would have been better off if I'd never touched the place, but my grandfather used to say you've got to find your money where you lost it. But this place nearly destroyed my life."

Mr O' Dwyer, 34, left his home in Kildare, just outside Dublin, in Ireland, and came to England when he was 19. He had just £200 in his back pocket.

The entrepreneur initially went bankrupt two years later. But then he built up a successful mail order business and a merchandising company.

He puts his perseverance in refurbishing the hotel down to his survival instinct. He said: "I always believe things will get better. A fire a few months after opening your own pub pretty much shatters your confidence."

He is now delighted with the White Hart's new look and is confident it will appeal to townsfolk.

There is a new bar, 16 renovated bedrooms, a large, comfortable dining room, which can be used for conferences, a new kitchen serving quality meals, and a big screen, which shows all the latest sporting events."We offer a high standard of accommodation and a high standard of food in a friendly, warm atmosphere," Mr O'Dwyer said. "It's a mix of new and old, like an E-type Jaguar, but it has all the character of the old model."