A FIRE at one of Enfield Town's oldest stores caused £1million worth of damage to stock and hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost revenue.o The blaze at Pearsons department store in Church Street began at a cosmetics counter on the ground floor of the building at about 7.10am on Saturday.

Although the fire was small, it caused plenty of smoke damage, which billowed through the building, right up to the second floor. An investigation is being carried out by the fire brigade.

Manager Ivor McClearnon, who safely evacuated the cleaning staff and tackled the blaze, has been praised by bosses.

The normally busy store was closed for up to three days while goods were assessed and an ozone generator was brought in to purify the air.

Pearsons' 150 staff were redeployed to the company's warehouses, but were able to return to the store on Sunday to carry out a stock check.

The store, which has been established in Enfield Town since 1931, reopened its doors to the public at 12noon on Tuesday. Staff were on hand to explain to inquiring shoppers what had happened.

Merchandise director David Howard said: "We would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience over the last three days. We don't like to be closed when our customers like us to stay open."

Shoppers disappointed by the store's weekend closure can take comfort in its surprise sale.

Many items which absorbed the smell of smoke, including sportswear, ladies' fashion and lingerie, are reduced by up to 75 per cent.