My son worked at Comet at the Swan Yardley, when he was 17 that was in 1989, and thinks that the indoor market was there then, so perhaps the fire was very early 1990's.
"The inshops was another sprawling market hall where you could buy anything and everything, but this time it was all split in to different units each one rented out to individual businesses. This was a lively place, always full of people. In the early days, they used to run a free bus up to Sheldon, which suited me because I could nick of school early and get home for nothing.
Then, one morning there was a fire. The Inshops were totally gutted. People lost everything that they had worked for with in a matter seconds. The smell of damp smoke hung around the precinct for weeks afterwards. But within two years, like a phoenix from the flames, The Inshops where back in business. Busier, brighter and better than ever. Some of the old traders returned along with many new faces. It was reopened in grand style by Vera Duckworth, backed by a BRMB radio road show and special guest appearance by Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."
But no date!
