Two devastated businessmen have been left out in the cold after fire tore through their brand new office in a former chapel in Coggeshall.

Firefighters from Braintree and Coggeshall were called to the former Baptist Chapel in Church Street, Coggeshall, at around 4am yesterday, after worried neighbours smelt smoke.

They spent more than an hour battling the flames which left the lower floor of the building black with smoke.

The fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.

Businessmen David Whitehead and David Redmile moved their promotions business from Queen Street to the Church Street site just a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday the business partners, who run Superseeds, did not know where they would go.

They said: "We've only just set up our business here. The first thing we are going to do is go for a coffee and work out where we go from here. The only good thing is that it could have been a lot worse."

The alarm call was raised by a concerned neighbour who was woken in the early hours of the morning by the stench of smoke.

The former baptist chapel site has been gradually restored and transformed into luxury office space by owner Eric Hookings, who bought the derelict building eight years ago.

Since buying the building Mr Hookings, who was this morning in London when he heard about the fire, has spent thousands of pounds refurbishing the old church house.

The fire left the downstairs office in tatters with blown light fittings and smoke damage, though the upper section was left largely intact.

The new office has been wrecked by fire

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