A chip shop was devastated by a fire just 16 hours before it was due to open for the first time.

Terry Burrage, 40, owner of Munch Kings, in Golden Cross Parade, Ashingdon, was busy loading fizzy drinks into the fridge when one of his deep fat fryers went up in flames at 4pm yesterday.

He said he had turned it on for the first time minutes before and had been planning to test it out by cooking some sausages.

He first threw a fire blanket on the flames, then tried using a fire extinguisher but nothing stopped the blaze.

By the time three fire crews from Southend and Hawkwell arrived ten minutes later, the flames had spread to the other fat fryers and were at least three feet high.

Mr Burrage said: "I can't believe it. I feel sick.

"Another 16 hours and it would have been opened. We have been spending all our spare time working on getting the shop ready for months and now this."

Four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus took 20 minutes to put out the flames but all the cooking equipment had been ruined.

Mr Burrage said the damage would cost about £25,000 to repair but vowed to get the shop open by November.