Joyous customers queued up as early as 5am ahead of the grand re-opening of a popular pizza restaurant which was destroyed in an arson attack.

Great British Pizza Co in Margate was savaged by fire in October last year, but in an “emotional” come-back on Monday, the team opened their doors to swarms of visitors eager to grab a slice of the action.

To celebrate the new refurbishment, owner Lisa Richards gave two lucky customers - one of whom camped outside the venue from the early hours - a free pizza every day for life.

Ms Richards explained what the opening meant to her: “I had never made an insurance claim before, and when I asked them if we could be open by Christmas, they replied ‘which Christmas?’.”

Customers coming back through the doors has been long-awaited, but Ms Richards has been overwhelmed by support as people rallied together to complete the build in four weeks once the claim was settled.

The restaurateur added: “I don’t want to get emotional - but there will be tears later.

“My staff have been amazing and have worked so hard.”

The team have been “really busy” but toasted the big day with bubbly, and the outlet was buzzing with hungry pizza-lovers.

Two of those were Tamzin Hooker and Eleanor Blake, who came every week before the fire.

Ms Hooker said: “We're so happy to be back. We missed it so much, to be back is just amazing.

“The food is great here. We’re on a first name basis with the staff - they still remember our orders.”

Ms Blake added: “When we heard what happened we couldn’t quite believe it.

“The way they’ve done it up now is just amazing.”

According to the women the pizza is just as good now - if not better.

Another keen customer was Ben Carter, who also frequented the establishment regularly.

He recalled: “I was shocked by the fire. I think it’s really sad.

“Everyone here works really hard and they go above and beyond with their customer service and do anything they can to help.

“It’s like a big family and to know that all these people had lost their jobs at the time and not knowing if it was going to come back was quite sad.”

GB Pizza is “right in the middle of everything” in the seaside town, making it a “hub” for the community, he said.

He describes how you can watch the sun set on the Margate Main Sands steps with a drink and a tasty meal from the eatery.

Mr Carter concluded: “I’m a regular and it’s great to be back.

“It's like a little family and the staff are so welcoming and chat to everyone.

“It’s just a nice environment to be in.”

Also enjoying the food was a family-of-three who “love the pizza”.

Dad Tony Ryan said: “We used it several times before the fire.

“It's a nice pizza in comparison to what you can get around here.”

His son Bailey exclaimed: “It’s better than Pizza Express.”

Mr Ryan continued, “We were shocked at the arson, I think everyone was.

“It took a while to open again but now it's up and running and it feels great to be back. I generally don’t like pizza, but it’s great here.”

The restaurant was set alight by 48-year-old Andrew Miller who sang “I’m a firestarter - a twisted firestarter” - lyrics from The Prodigy hit Firestarter - when he was taken into custody.

Soon after the sentencing, Mrs Richards said she was "staggered" to learn a passing police officer failed to confront iller when he was seen lighting a fire in a nearby seafront shelter.

The officer would later report why they had not intervened, saying they believed the man “appeared to be warming himself by a small fire”, and deemed him not to be a risk.

Despite the devastation caused, the community flocked to help staff with the clean-up operation.

GB Pizza Co is offering 50% off food ending today (Wednesday) to celebrate.