Primark reopens doors to shoppers at Belfast's Bank Buildings four years after devastating fire

Shoppers dreams came true as Belfast's newly refurbished Primark store finally opened its doors, four years after a devastating fire.

Bank Buildings, a 237-year-old building, located on Royal Avenue was gutted by the blaze in August 2018.

In pictures: Primark guard of honour for first shoppers as thousands queue

It's taken four years to restore the site with £100m spent to bring it back to its former glory. Around 300 new jobs have also been brought to the city centre as a result of the reopening.

The site was closed for four years following a devastating fire in August 2018 Credit: Pacemaker

Excited shoppers gathered from the break of dawn to ensure they were in a prime position to be the first into the store.

UTV spoke to the leader of the pack, and first entrant to the newly refurbed store, Samuel Hamilton. He explained that he'd been waiting outside the shop since 5.45am.

"I'm looking forward to seeing inside it, I saw it last night on UTV, the size of it an all - so that was more teasing too," he added.

Lord Mayor of Belfast Tina Black attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony Credit: Liam McBurney/PA

Meanwhile, another keen shopper said she had travelled to Belfast on the 6.30am bus from Omagh on Tuesday morning to ensure she made the opening on time.

"I wanted to have the experience of coming and seeing it for myself," she said.

If you didn't make it to the grand opening of the store, but would like to see all that it has to offer, check out UTV's behind the scenes report by Eden Wilson.

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