A business owner who helped donate thousands of face shields for NHS workers has lost everything in a devastating fire. Neil Brabbs watched on helplessly as his livelihood went up in flames in Newton-le-Willows earlier this week.
The 35-year-old was hundreds of miles away in Surrey when he learned a blaze had broken out at Sankey Valley Industrial Estate on Wednesday, May 20.
His firm, ARC Window Films, was one of the units next to where the fire originally started at a plastics recycling plant. Twenty fire crews were called to help tackle the blaze, which started at around 11am.
It was declared a ‘major incident’ by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and the smoke could be seen as far as Manchester city centre.