WORK on the £2.5 million rebuild of the George Hotel in Hatherleigh has been delayed by bad weather.

Scottish and Newcastle Pub Enterprises says work is behind schedule, but the firm is optimistic that time can be made up and is confident that the new hotel will still reopen this summer.

The historic 15th century coaching inn was destroyed by fire just days before Christmas in 2008.

More than 100 firefighters from across the county battled the blaze at the 600-year-old inn which was still burning into the early hours of Christmas Eve.

Former chef at the George, Lee Garner, 42, had been sacked from his job at the pub a few days before he set it on fire. Garner, from Barrack Road, Exeter, pleaded guilty to arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered and harassment.

He was jailed for 10 years at Exeter Crown Court last July.

Scottish and Newcastle has been working closely with English Heritage, West Devon Borough Council's planning department and local parish councillors on the design for the new George Hotel that does justice to the original.

The company says the front of the building will be very similar with painted rendered walls and timber windows selected to closely match the previous style.

And it will be predominantly thatched using a local reed and employing traditional methods.

Inside it plans to use natural materials such as flagstones, cobbles and oak beams in keeping with the old inn.

A spokeswoman for the company said: "Work is progressing well but we have been incredibly delayed by the big freeze and the horrendous weather.

"It has put us back about a month."

Additional problems were caused when work to re-route a sewer was also delayed.

The spokeswoman added: "The work is now up to the ground floor level on the site so significant progress has been made.

"We are back on track and it is all looking good.

"We hope to be able to make up time and are looking at late summer for opening."