A pub landlady says she has 'lost everything' after a fire ripped through her home.
Leanne Brownbridge was at hospital with her teenage daughter when the blaze broke out at Earl of Balcarres, in Wigan, on Tuesday evening.
No one was injured and firefighters managed to rescue the family's two bulldogs, Mavis and Dave, and pet tortoise from the burning building.
But the inferno tore through the boozer's upstairs living quarters, destroying Ms Brownbridge's home and all of her possessions.
"I've lost everything," the 37-year-old.
"My house, my job, it's all gone. I don't know what I'm going to do."
Ms Brownbridge had taken her 15-year-old daughter Ellie to Wigan Infirmary when she received a call saying the pub was on fire.
After rushing home, she described the scene before her as like 'walking into a horror film'.
"It was completely ablaze," she added.
"I wasn't allowed to go anywhere near the pub because it was taped off. I was just shouting for my dogs.
"I thought they were dead. I had to wait 45 minutes before I knew they were alive.
"A neighbour had put them in their front garden. It was just ultimate relief when I saw them."
As firefighters battled to bring the flames under control, Ms Brownbridge waited anxiously beside the cordon.
She remained there until 5am when, still unable to get anywhere near her home, she returned to the hospital.
When she came back to the pub at midday, she was finally allowed inside.
It was then she discovered the full extent of the destruction the fire had caused.
The flames had ripped throughout the upstairs living quarters, leaving nothing but charred furniture and heaps of ashes.
Meanwhile, the pub area itself was left damaged by the water firefighters used to douse the flames.
"Everything is gone," Ms Brownbridge added. "There's nothing there except a big pile of ashes.
"I'm heartbroken. I haven't even got the words to describe how I feel.
"My life has gone. I know we're lucky to be alive, but we literally have nothing.
"We had one change of clothes in the hospital and that's it. My daughter and me are still in the same clothes.
"She is hysterical. She is in year 11 and has lost all her GCSE coursework."
The mother and daughter have since been put up in hotel, and say they doubt they will be able to return to the pub for at least six months.
Ms Brownbridge only took over the boozer, in Scholes, last summer and had spent the last few months carrying out a refurbishment.
She says she 'couldn't wait' to finally reopen it to customers.
"I was ready to go as soon they said we could," she said.
"It's been hard enough trying to keep it together during lockdown.
"I'm heartbroken for all my regulars. There were people who came in with nowhere else to go.
"That is where they saw their friends and now it has burned down."
Police and the fire service have since launched a joint investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire.
Karl Banks , 38, of Great Acre, Wigan, has been charged with arson. He appeared at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court today.
