THE former owner of a Hampshire fireworks store which burnt to the ground has been told he cannot return to the site to rebuild his business.

Mark Fitzpatrick lost about £50,000 worth of stock in the ferocious fire which ripped through the Southern Fireworks Factory in May, causing explosions and fireworks to be set off.

PHOTOS: Fireworks factory blaze aftermath - in pictures >>>

Homes and properties within a 100-metre radius of the premises off Bitterne Road West were evacuated while more than 70 firefighters from across Hampshire battled for 12 hours to bring the blaze under control.

As previously reported by the Daily Echo, investigators concluded that the fire started after after plastic-wrapped cardboard boxes were accidentally stacked too closed to a hot halogen lightbulb.

In June, the 53-year-old businessman vowed he would rebuild the store and the next door Flower Factory but his landlord Mr George Bhakar told Mr Fitzpatrick that he did not want him to return to the site.

The business owner is now in discussions with his solicitor as he believes his lease has not run out, so he is entitled to return.

Mr Fitzpatrick, who lives in High Street, Southampton said he was in the preparing to sign another 10-year lease with the site owner when when the fire happened.

He added that although the buildings were insured, the contents insurance had run out six months prior to the fire.

Mr Fitzpatrick said: “It has been heartbreaking - I was busy every day and now I am not.

"I am just trying to survive and get through it.

“I cannot believe the landlord is taking this attitud. He should be putting the building back up there and we should be going back in and opening up and serving the people of Southampton.

“We had built such a good place, everyone knew where we were.

"To go somewhere else would be difficult.

"There is nowhere else that would be suitable at the moment.”

Mr Fitzpatrick said: “We were getting to the point where we had got a great reputation and a great customer base.

"People were coming to us because of the way we worked. We took pride in the way we served people.

“We get so many messages from people asking when we are coming back. I just can’t give them an answer.

“I just want to get back to work and build my business. I had put so much time and effort in.”

Mr Fitzpatrick’s daughter Jessica runs the Flower Factory Garden Centre in Bournemouth.

Her company was destroyed by Storm Katie and reopened after a refurbishment the day before the fire in Southampton.

The sister store, which opened in November, 2015, was also given permission to sell fireworks all year around at the start of October.

“We are just trying to crack on with it,” said Jessica. “ I think the people of Southampton just want us back,” she said.

“My dad is desperate to get back there. He is determined to make it bigger and better than ever before.”

She said the fire was an unfortunate incident and she was not worried about a repeat of the blaze.

Mr Bhakar has refused to comment on the matter.

When asked if Mr Fitzpartick would need to renew his fireworks licence for the site a spokesman for Southampton City Council said it was “potentially commercially sensitive information and, as such, isn’t something that we can divulge”.