THE last time former county fire chief John Craig went to Jesse Smith butcher's in Marlborough was to lead 100 firefighters trying to save the 17th century building.

Last Wednesday he returned to formally re-open the High Street shop five years after it was left gutted after a massive blaze.

Mr Craig was Wiltshire's Chief Fire Officer at the time of the fire in June 1998. He took personal command of the huge operation that involved firefighters being drafted in from all parts of the county.

They managed to prevent the fire spreading into adjacent properties and confined it to the betting shop and butcher's and the flats above.

The betting shop re-opened a year later after the historic building was rebuilt. But Jesse Smith butchers, for legal reasons involving the shop tenancy, did not re-open until last week.

Richard Harris, managing director of the parent company which owns the Jesse Smith group of five shops, said: "We thought the ideal person to carry out the re-opening ceremony was Mr Craig."

One of the staff, Robert Clarke, 50, worked at the Marlborough shop since he was 12 and did the Saturday deliveries. He was apprenticed to the original owner, the late Eric Hall.

Over the past five years Mr Clarke has worked as a relief butcher at the company's branches, waiting for the new shop to re-open.

Mr Clarke was a member of the local fire service at the time of the 1998 blaze and was the first fireman into the blazing building.