WORK to fire ravaged homes won’t be finished until October, builders have revealed.

Rose Builders, of Manningtree, said scaffolding was expected to stay up outside five homes in West Street until May while the building was made structurally sound.

It took the building company until March to sift through rubble for salvageable items. They were still clearing damaged wood in November, some of which will be repaired and reinstated into the fabric of the buildings.

Since November 10 to 12 builders and supervisors have been on site five days a week to rebuild the homes. The project is thought to cost around £1million.

Using photographs given by the home owners, architects Richard Jackson have spent time since the fire creating drawings of how each room looked, so builders can recreate traditional features.