Blaze a ‘blessing in disguise’ for Angmering firm

After a freak fire at Rag Bags, in Dappers Lane, last September, owners Terry and Claire thought they had lost everything – their customers, their stock and their much-loved business.

But after months of hard work, sweat and tears, Rag Bags has risen from the ashes of potential oblivion like the legendary phoenix, in even better shape than before.

Terry, whose industrial clothing recycling business has been in the village for more than 15 years, said: “In some ways, the fire has been a blessing in disguise. It’s given us the chance to have a fresh start. We’ve managed to make so many improvements since then, that the business has gone from strength to strength.”

Terry, 51, said that he and wife Claire, 46, had watched, frozen in horror, as the blaze caught, threatening to wreck their livelihood.

“It was heartbreaking,” said Terry. “This is something that we have built from scratch, from the back of my dad’s garden shed, to a successful business. We just couldn’t believe it.”

The fire, which was believed to have started accidentally, destroyed about 30 per cent of the Smiths’ stock of clothing, which was due to be cleaned and later recycled. It also wrecked the storage room where all the clothes were kept.

“Instantly, we knew that we had lost a month’s worth of business and orders,” said Terry. “We were rushing around, calling people from across the country, just trying to keep afloat.

“But we also had to look for somewhere new to house all our goods.”

By chance, a neighbouring business happened to be moving from the site, freeing up another unit, feet away from the couple’s ruined store.

“It was an absolute God-send,” said Terry. “Now we’ve moved in, it’s made everything so much more efficient.

“We can keep everything under one roof, instead of having certain goods spread across different areas.”

The blaze has also helped the company become more environmentally friendly.

Prior to the fire, Rag Bags used to send all its unsuitable, waste goods to a landfill site. But now, all the company’s waste is sent straight to a recycling hub, where it is burned to help supply power to the energy grid in Sussex.

Terry added: “Recycling our waste is something we’re passionate about and this just fits in with our overall ethos.”