IT will be nothing but bubbles and balloons when a card and gift shop reopens next week months after it was devastated by a major fire.

Ringwood Celebrations is set to relaunch on Saturday, July 1, after the unit was ravaged by a fire that engulfed Meeting House Shopping Centre before Christmas last year.

Owner Mike Beeston said he was over-the-moon when he was eventually given the keys back to his business.

Now he and his members of staff are working tirelessly to bring the popular shop back up to scratch in time for the relaunch.

Speaking of the moment he was handed the keys on Wednesday, Mr Beeston said: "It's a brilliant feeling, absolutely fantastic. It's a lot of weight off my shoulders. Seven months is a long time."

Mr Beeston was boarding a plane to Las Vegas for a much-needed holiday to celebrate having beaten cancer when he learned of the fire from his staff members, a month before Christmas.

Since then he has been working non-stop to ensure that his business doesn't fail.

"You're never sure if you're going to get a full claim on the insurance but it's all been sorted," he added.

"Sainsburys have been pretty good as landlords and they have done a thorough job. Especially with the office upstairs as I have got twice the size I had before."

Mr Beeston is now planning their grand re-opening which is set to take place at 9am on July 1.

"We're hoping to get the Town Cryer and the Mayor to come along and cut some tape for us. There will be bubbles and balloons and we'll have gift bags to hand out.

"We're hoping to make it some sort of fanfare day.

"A lot of people have contacted us on Facebook putting up updates and the like. We're surprised how many people have missed us. Everyone says 'it's about time' and 'we really miss you'.

"It's nice to know we have been missed and how popular we are."

Employee April Haywood added: "I got stopped in the middle of Bournemouth when someone asked when we were going to reopen. It's a lovely feeling."

Mr Beeston added that he couldn't thank his dedicated staff members enough who had been "absolutely fantastic" throughout the entire ordeal.