A town centre takeaway has reopened little more than a year after it was destroyed by a devastating fire.

Father-of-five Mohammed Sikdar could only watch as an apartment above the Pappadoms Indian in Herne Bay was completely gutted in the blaze in December 2015.

But the 43-year-old, who has owned the High Street business for five years, has now spent more than £100,000 rebuilding the takeaway.

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“It was a massive shock when the fire happened,” he said.

“I knew straight away that I must rebuild the business and I have worked really hard on it since then.

“All of the equipment is new but the staff are the same."

The blaze, which was believed to have been sparked by an electrical fault, happened on Sunday, December 6, 2015.

Emergency crews were called in the early hours to reports of a blaze in a property on the corner of High Street and Dolphin Street.

Video: Pappadoms restaurant reopens a year after devastating fire

Firefighters raced to the burning building at about 4am as families were evacuated from their homes.

The High Street was closed off between Station Road and Richmond Street.

“So many of my customers phoned me after the incident and were very helpful,” Mr Sikdar added.

“Herne Bay is a very friendly place and when I walk through the town I see a number of my customers who are waiting for it to reopen.

“Most of my customers are really friendly and they were upset when it happened.”

The takeaway reopened on Friday.