TRADERS whose units were destroyed by the Blochairn fruit market fire are now operating out of temporary spaces at the site in Glasgow’s East End.

The popular city institution bounced back in just a day with the fruit market packed with customers collecting their orders yesterday morning.

A trader told the Evening Times that he was sharing a large warehouse unit with another business - but he was delighted to be up and running again.

The Evening Times understands that at least 90 per cent of the businesses were in operation yesterday.

The trader, who did not want to be named, said: “Everyone pitched in and helped each other out.

“Customers have been showing up with everything from crates of beers to cake.

“I can’t believe we got to work after what I witnessed.”

He added: “It was business as usual.”

RGB Fruits also praised the efforts to get the famous Fruit Market back up and running.

The firm said: “RGB Fruits applaud the Glasgow Fruit Market in Blochairn. They have done as much as they can, and are up and running again.

“Amazing people.”

The traders were among the hundreds of workers who returned to the site after the fire destroyed several units.

They were allowed access because part of the Fruit Market survived the blaze which started after 3.30am on Thursday.

The Evening Times reported in the home delivery edition of the paper yesterday that those wanting to get access to the Fruit Market were, however, met by a police cordon at the main gate.

Three police officers stood in the torrential rain holding clipboards. They gave access to wholesalers who were queuing to get in before 9am, which appeared to be a peak time for business.

The cops, however, took a note of the registration number of the car and a name.

A firefighter also stood guard on Blochairn Road with a hose attached to a hydrant, signally that their work was not done more than 24 hours after the fire had started.

Inside the Fruit Market, a group of men wearing hard hats could be seen assessing the damage at one section of the building.

The traders, however, were in working mode shouting commands and handling orders in the manner they are famed for.

The individual units were all filled up with fresh fruit and vegetables. At the site of the blaze, crates of fresh fruit remain in their original state untouched by the fire.

The B and C sections of the Fruit Market is where the majority of the damage appears to have happened.

According to a site map, there are at least 16 units of different sizes in those sections.

One of the businesses in those sections which went up in flames was the popular diner Sticky Fingers which was used by the travelling lorry drivers who come from all over Europe to deliver to the market.

It might be business as usual at the market but the East End community, were delivered a blow with the news that they will lose their famous Blochairn car boot sale this Sunday.

The weekly event has been cancelled and City Property said it will close this Sunday for one week only.

Meanwhile, the future of the part of the building which was wrecked by the fire is still to be confirmed.

City Property said that the section of the Fruit Market where the fire started is still in the hands of the emergency services.

Once they are handed the building back, they will inspect the damage caused by the fire and make a decision about the structure.

The Evening Times understands that a digger was on site yesterday moving parts of a collapsed roof away for safety reasons.

A spokesman for City Property said: "Emergency services are still in control of the damaged parts of the site. Once this is handed back, City Property will assess the damage and decide upon the best course of action.

"The market traded at near capacity last night and into this morning, despite approximately one third of the site being cordoned off."

He added: "Normal trading hours will continue, however as a result of the fire our popular car boot sale will be closed this Sunday for one week only.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have also began their investigations into what caused the fire.

We reported yesterday that two officers from the Incident Research and Investigation Section were at the site to begin their probe.

We also previously revealed that it is understood that the fire started at RS Trading.

The alarms immediately went off and as workers began their evacuation, they watched in horror as a fire formed ripping along the premises’ roof.

Explosions could be heard as the fire tore through the building hitting appliances which exploded.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service rushed to the scene with initially two appliances but as the blaze built up, over 70 firefighters worked to bring it under control.

Most of the workers were outside when the blaze started and made a calm evacuation, which meant there was no injuries.