Painstaking demolition continues on Exeter's Royal Clarence Hotel

Demolition work on the Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter continues one brick at a time. It'll be two weeks tonight that England's oldest hotel was destroyed by a fire that began in a neighbouring building.

Demolition crews can't use machinery for the work as the heavy movements might further damage parts of the structure that might be saved.

Many businesses in Cathedral Close have reopened but further stores in Martins Lane will open their doors again on Friday.

The lane runs alongside the Royal Clarence and can only be partially reopened until structural engineers can fully assess the damage to the hotel's exterior walls.

Shops are slowly reopening and getting back to normal following the fire

A jewellers and a hairdresser will open at 10am on Friday. Both businesses are hoping that Martins Lane will be able to open in time for the Christmas market on Cathedral Green next week. But no details about when the lane will reopen are yet available.

The lane whichruns alongside the Royal Clarence can only be partially reopened until a full damage assessment is undertaken