A landlady has spoken of her customers' goodwill following her and her husband's lucky escape from a blaze which destroyed their pub.

Lynn Jones, landlady of the Dyneley Arms at Bramhope has told her regulars 'we will be back and possibly in six months'.

She has spoken for the first time about the trauma of losing her home and of the generosity of many regulars.

Today marked the couple's third anniversary at the pub.

Lynn and her husband Terry were left homeless after a fire gutted the four storey building last week.

The couple lost everything in the fire, which broke out in the early hours of Sunday, October, 13 - but many regulars rallied round to bring them clothes and equipment.

Concerned customers left lots of messages of support for the couple at the Holiday Inn at Bramhope where they were staying at.

"We have lost everything - we haven't even got a pair of socks," said Lynn.

"We want to thank all our customers for their support. We can't believe how kind everyone has been to us. We just want to say thank you and we will see you again when it reopens, hopefully in six or seven months.

"We didn't have any clothes on Sunday and a friend came to the hotel to see us, but we couldn't go down to the reception because our clothes were ruined.

"He went home and brought clothes back for us so that we could come out of the room and go for a walk. Another lady emptied her wardrobe and brought it here for us. Others came and helped us pack everything up at the pub.

"You think people come in the pub and when they leave they forget about you. But they don't, we have had 17 messages on our answer machine of people offering support."

The historic pub, which was formerly a farmhouse for Lord Dyneley, needs to be totally rebuilt in places and is expected to be open again in six months.

The fire started from a crack in the hearth, which allowed the fire to spread under the floor and inside the walls of the pub.

Lynn said: "We have had trouble with the smoke from the fire and at 2.10am on Sunday, October 13, the smoke alarm went off.

"My husband went downstairs to put the fans on to clear the smoke. He reset the alarm and didn't think about it, because the fire always smokes. I then woke up at 4.12am because of the alarm and got him to go downstairs to sort it out.

"He went into our lounge and it was thick with smoke. The fire alarm saved our lives we are lucky to be alive."

The couple are still in shock following the incident.

"The doctor says we are suffering from acute trauma, I haven't been able to go out and buy anything, I just can't bring myself to do it," said Lynn.

The couple have been given a cottage in Menston until the pub is rebuilt and hope to take a holiday. Regulars can find them at the Menston Arms pub, Main Street.