One year ago today a huge blaze ripped through a popular town centre club as its passionate owners could only stand on and watch as three decades of hard work was destroyed.

Ciaran O’Quigley and his family were left feeling hopeless after Mu Mu in Week Street, Maidstone, caught alight at around 2.30am that morning.

More than 60 firefighters spent the day at the restaurant, bar and entertainment venue tackling the fire, which took nine hours to get under control and the blaze left a trail of destruction behind it.

At its height, 15 fire engines were there trying to stop the flames, with a large cordon from Maidstone East railway station to KFC put in place, and people told to avoid the area.

A dejected O’Quigley family spent the day glued to the pavements, watching the emergency services work tirelessly to save as much of the business as they could after the family put so much effort into creating the venue over the years.

A visibly distraught Ciaran looked on from inside the cordon, regularly chatting to the fire service, and even donning a hard hat to inspect some of the damage, which luckily avoided nearby bar Nellie Gerkins, when it was safe to do so.

Now, 365 days later the scaffolding, which was put in place while repairs were under way, was finally taken down on Tuesday.

The devastating fire shocked many residents who know Mu Mu and its owners all too well, and groups stood on and watched as the metal poles were taken down from the front of the site.

“The community were amazing last year,” Ciaran explained.

“They’ve supported MuMu for nearly 30 years and when the scaffolding came down there was a massive group just standing and watching.”

The refurbished restaurant is a world away from the scenes displayed last year after a fire started inside the building in the early hours.

Nearby residents had described how the blaze went from a small fire to “erupting onto the roof” within 10 seconds.

The scary scenes even prompted a heroic reaction from Jamie Webster, who ran into the restaurant to warn staff.

Mr Webster, from nearby Brenchley House, said: “I heard the fire alarm going off but at first I thought it was just the burglar alarm.

“Then two people went running in and the amount of smoke that came out was colossal.

“When they ran in, I went straight after them without thinking because the last thing we needed would be for them to go unconscious from the smoke.

“When we were all out I rang the fire brigade at 2.36am.”

Following the incident, which saw the building’s roof and insides decimated by fire, an outpouring of tributes from the town helped settle a huge decision for the O’Quigley’s who were looking at moving to the coast.

Speaking exclusively to KentOnline a week after the blaze, Ciaran, who has owned the business for 29 years, explained he was considering moving the business to Brighton before seeing the community's outpouring of support.

He said: “We just didn’t realise we were loved I suppose. The Maidstone community have been amazing.

“We were actively looking for a couple of years in Brighton to relocate because we didn’t really feel our heart belonged in Maidstone. But we just feel there has been so much love we aren’t going anywhere.

“An old lady came into the pub and gave me £5 out of her purse. The Maidstone Borough Council leader offered us offices free of charge.

“We have had loads of emails from people saying ‘I want to book a week off work so I can come help us’. Our customers have been amazing. We have had fire officers coming back to help us.

“We couldn’t personally respond to everybody, there have been thousands of people. I want to say thank you to all those wonderful people.”

Among the shops and restaurants behind a police cordon, were Tesco Express, German Doner kebab, Sunshine Tanning studio, McDonald’s, Starburger, Adams Barbers, Grill 91, KFC, and Society Rooms.

Fire crews left the scene at around 7.40pm later that day after an exhausting 17-hour battle.

The O’Quigley family say they have big plans for the venue in the coming weeks...