Work has taken a step forward to rebuild the Morrisons supermarket in Folkestone which was destroyed by fire last year.

Construction crews on site have now erected walls around the store's existing metal framework, with gaps being left for windows and doors.

Boarding around the building site announces "Your new Morrisons Folkestone coming soon".

Scroll down for videos of the fire and the damage it caused

This will be welcome news for customers, who are currently getting their groceries from a temporary store, which was built in the Cheriton Road car park at the end of 2018.

The former Morrisons supermarket went up in flames last November after a deep fat fryer in the store’s cafe is believed to have caught fire.

More than 50 firefighters battled the blaze at its peak, with flames and smoke seen coming out of the store’s roof.

Morrisons on fire in Folkestone

As well as Kent Fire and Rescue, the Red Cross and Kent Police assisted throughout the day, with the entire roof collapsing at one point.

Fortunately there were no injuries but the building was left completely gutted.

The retailer originally unveiled plans to completely demolish what was left of the building and replace it with a new state of the art store, roughly the same size as the previous one.

But in March this year, an amended planning application revealed parts of the original shop would be incorporated into the re-build.

Costs and the extent of insurance claims were the reasons given for the revised plans.

Demolition work started in May, with builders seen on site ever since.

Drone footage shows scale of fire damage at Morrisons

When built, the new store will include a wider range of groceries, a bakers, butchers, fishmongers and florist, as well as clothing from the Nutmeg range.

Key cutting and dry cleaning services are also expected to be on site, with Amazon lockers installed for customers to collect their online shopping.

Bosses at Morrisons plan to open the new build by Christmas this year but the temporary store will remain open in the meantime.

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