IT was a sad day for John Shallcross when the former Manweb building in Northwich burned down last month.

For John, of Beach Road, Hartford, who is a Castle churchwarden, was just 14 when he worked in the building as an apprentice.

He said ironically the upstairs of the building was also used as a meeting centre for fire wardens during the Second World War.

The fire broke out on Friday, April 22, just before 7am.

At its height, five crews tackled the blaze, a hydraulic platform was dispatched from Chester and there was traffic chaos as Northwich Town Bridge was closed.

John recalled his early time working for Manweb.

He said: "The first storey was the meter centre with all the domestic meters for the area.

"I spent hours watching a galvanometer making sure that it didn't move from zero.

"I was 14 at the time and was paid 15s 9d a week between 1944 and 1945."

John recalled where the emergency exit for the first storey was at that time.

He said: "It was out at the back and the emergency exit was a knotted rope through the window.

"I remember a lady being burned once as she went down the rope."

Before it was Manweb the building used to be a pub.

John added: "My wife's mother used to have to go down to the pub with a jug.

"You could say we have had a family connection with the building."