WORK has started on a half-a-million pound scheme to give a new lease of life to the Burnley pub at the centre of the summer race riots.

The Duke of York, Duke Bar, was gutted in a fire bomb attack at the height of the disturbances on June 23. It had been damaged the night before.

The pub, at the junction of Colne Road and Briercliffe Road, is one of the town's landmark buildings with its familiar clock face looking towards the town centre.

Work on the clock is included in the total scheme.

The bar area, much of the ground floor, and part of the first floor were ruined in the attack. Only the second floor flat was left unscathed. Since the attack the pub has been made secure but local people have been wondering how long it would be left derelict.

Now, amazingly, it is hoped that the ground floor pub will be open in time for Christmas.

The pub was built in 1888 and is now owned by Avebury Taverns of Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. They have commissioned shopfitting and refurbishment contractors Watergate (Leeds) Ltd to carry out a full refurbishment scheme. The design work is being done by Chris Baker Associates, surveyors and designers, of Leeds.

It is hoped that the fast track scheme can get the ground floor of the pub open in time for Christmas. Work will also take place on a full refurbishment of the upstairs function room.

Watergate's managing director Richard Cryer and quantity surveyor Jonathan Power, who were both at the former hotel yesterday, admitted that it would be a push to open on time for the Christmas celebrations.

Richard said: "It is a complete refurbishment both inside and out. We will be putting a complete scaffolding cocoon around the building for security and safety reasons.

Many of the joists were burnt away in the fierce fire which engulfed the property. A full team of specialist tradesmen including electricians, plumbers, joiners, tilers and masons will be brought in to carry out the work.

They will be followed by people doing all the decoration work.

Richard said the scheme amounted to more than half a million pounds. He said: "We are aiming if everything goes well to try to get the pub open by Christmas."

Ironically an artificial Christmas tree and decorations lie among the blackened ruins on the floor of the gutted main bar area.

Richard added: "Inside the layout will be very similar with only some minor alterations. When it is finished it will be better than it was before."

Landlady of the pub at the time of the riots said she was turning her back on the area after watching her business and home go up in flames.

Marie Coulston said she had moved her two sons, Darrol and Stephen, out of the flat above the pub when the windows were smashed by youths throwing bricks.

She and her partner followed to stay with friends nearby after they were told their pub was going to be torched. It is not known if Mrs Coulston will continue to run the refurbished pub.