Torched eatery owner defiant

9:11am Tuesday 20th May 2008

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"YOU won't break us" - that was the defiant message sent out from a restaurant owner to the arsonists who ravaged his business.

Iqbal Chowdhury, the boss of the torched Bengal Brasserie - set alight by thieves after they stole £5,000 from the safe - and his staff have raised thousands of pounds for a string of charities, including The Press's Guardian Angels Appeal.

Now they are counting the cost of the arson attack which has forced the Nether Poppleton restaurant to close for at least a month and will lead to thousands of pounds being lost in takings.

Police were today continuing to investigate the blaze, which started shortly before 4am on Sunday and left firefighters fearing somebody might be trapped inside the Millfield Road building.

But 55-year-old Mr Cowdhury, who has run the Nether Poppleton restaurant since 1999 and its sister business in Goodramgate since 1996, has insisted it will not divert him from his charitable efforts.

"Whoever has done this will not beat us and will not break our minds," he said.

"We may have suffered a little bit, but we will not let other people suffer because of these idiots and we will continue with our fundraising.

"We have always felt we are part of the local community and have tried to get involved with good causes. We have been planning to support York Against Cancer in the summer, and despite what has happened, those are still our plans."

Staff at the restaurant recently sacrificed a day's wages to boost our Guardian Angels appeal, which aims to raise £300,000 for a new high-dependency unit for York Hospital's children ward, by £1,080 last year.

They also collected £1,000 for Age Concern in York through a fusion cooking evening in April, and more than £2,000 for York Save The Children's emergency appeal to help people left homeless by the Cyclone Sidr disaster in Bangladesh last November.

"We are survivors and we will continue to do our best to raise money for charity," said Mr Chowdhury.

"What has happened is devastating, not just for me but our staff - it's their bread and butter. But we will come back stronger from it."

York fire chief Graham Buckle said: "The fire was started deliberately in the seating area just inside the entrance and it's fortunate that staff at the BP garage nearby saw smoke coming out of the building."

Firefighters had initially feared there may be somebody trapped inside the restaurant because of a car parked outside, although the building was eventually found to be empty. North Yorkshire Police continue to investigate the incident, and anyone with information should phone 0845 6060247.