Ocean Blue Restaurant and Bistro

In November 2007 Aziz Hassan saw his business go up in smoke when a blaze wrecked the Ocean Blue in East Walk, Basildon. Aziz and his staff managed to get customers to safety before the fire took hold and he didn't know then when of if his doors would open again.

But Aziz is no quitter and ad a year later the doors reopened again - and he was immediately flooded with former customers who said they "had missed his lovely fish and chip dinners".

To mark the occasion one of the oldest residents in Basildon, 101 year old Doris Dudley, and the oldest family in the borough, Dolly Dear and her brother and three sisters, performed the opening ceremony. And the way people packed the place out you would have thought it was the return of the prodigal son.