A COFFEE shop in Rawtenstall was gutted by fire in the early hours of today.

Fire crews were called to the Studio in Bank Street at about 3.15am to reports of a serious blaze in the kitchen.

Firefighters tackled the fire, which destroyed much of the kitchen equipment and left the cafe severely damaged, for several hours.

A probe has now been launched by fire investigation teams and the police to try and establish the cause of the blaze, which is being treated as suspicious.

A spokesman for the fire service said: "The whole kitchen was gutted in the fire and the rest of the business badly smoke-logged.

"We were there for about two hours and will be returning with the police to carry out an investigation.

"The cafe certainly won't be reopening for some time."

The cafe owner, Margaret Jeffs, said today she was determined not to let the fire ruin the business.

Mrs Jeffs, 54, who has run the cafe for the past 12 years, said: "The first thing I knew about the fire was a call early this morning.

"The cafe is in a bad way and is certainly not fit for use at the moment. The fridges have been melted and the microwave destroyed.

"It will be a case of getting the place cleared out and then waiting for the insurance to pay out so we can get on with rebuilding the business.

"I'm determined not to let this ruin the cafe. I have run the business for the past 12 years and I won't let this get in the way. I will carry on."