Mystery surrounds a fire that completely destroyed 'Britain's wonkiest pub' as firefighters struggled to get to the building and intruders "were seen" just moments before it erupted in flames.
It comes as the country band - unfortunately named "Gasoline & Matches" - was supposed to play at "Britain's wonkiest pub" on the night it was devastated by a ruthless fire. The Crooked House had advertised the duo in chilling final social media posts and leaflets in the weeks before it closed forever and was sold for alternative use.
Police continue to probe the cause of the blaze as one of the first firefighters at the scene revealed his crew's access to the building was restricted due to a mound of dirt "blocking" the rural road. A local has also reported seeing intruders inside the building moments before it erupted in flames.
Firefighters said access was difficult due to mounds of dirt blocking the road, forcing crews to park up about a third of the way up the lane and roll out about 40 lengths of hose to get a working water supply to the building as flames engulfed the historic pub.
The Crooked House was gutted by the fierce blaze on Saturday (BPM Media)Firefighters battled heroically throughout the night after being alerted to the blaze on Saturday at 10pm. Chris Green, who has served in the fire service for 16 years and has been watch commander at Tipton Fire Station since 2021, said access was difficult due to mounds of dirt blocking the road.
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Mr Green told Express and Star: "When we got there the lads had to work so hard because there were mounds of dirt that had been put in the road blocking the lane. They could have been put there as a security measure."
According to The Telegraph, one local said that intruders had been seen inside the closed pub and seemed to be partying and playing music. Cops said no one was inside the building when it went up in flames.
Gasoline & Matches called the inferno "a crazy coincidence". A post on the band's official account reads: "We were contacted by concerned friends, followers & even national news over the weekend regarding this! We were due to perform at #thecrookedhouse on Saturday when it went up in flames! The gig had actually been cancelled a month ago, but the pub hadn’t taken the flyer down so the story has now gone viral!
"Such a crazy coincidence and we are really sad to hear what’s happened!" It ends with a "broken heart" emoji at a nod to the devastation the blaze caused among regulars and locals. Nothing else to say other than our thoughts are with everyone this has affected. We know the pub held a lot of memories for a lot of people, such a shame."
Chris Hill, 60, of music events company Chris Hill Aces Promotion, told the Mirror: "Honestly, you couldn't make it up, could you? You can see someone has put it on the Instagram thing for Crooked House because it is dated weeks ago, when the pub was still open. It burned down the same day they were meant to play."
There is no connection between the band and the fire, which Staffordshire Police is investigating. The force is appealing for information.
Fire crews are pictured at the scene, near Dudley, West Midlands, on Sunday morning (Anita Maric / SWNS)Mr Hill regularly visited the boozer with his family and was heartbroken to see its demise. He added: "We used to go there as a family loads of times as we are local... It was just a magical thing, with the ball bearings appearing to go uphill, it was just weird. It's like a National Institution because it is really, really popular place and, judging from the amount of things I've seen on Facebook, thee are a lot of upset people.
"People used to have weddings there and all sorts of stuff. People came from miles and miles around, and from other countries too as they'd heard or read about it."
A 'massive glow' could be seen for miles after the inferno started (BPM Media)
Police are investigating to establish the cause of the fire (BPM Media)Staffordshire Police said in a statement: "We are appealing for information after a fire at a derelict building in Himley late Saturday evening. Officers were called to a report of a fire at what used to be the Crooked House pub on Himley Road at 10:45pm last night (5 August). Crews from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service were already in attendance and had extinguished the blaze. No one was believed to be inside the building and no one has been reported injured.
"We are now working with fire investigators to establish the cause of the fire. Fire investigators are inspecting the scene this morning and officers are making local enquiries to secure any information that might help the investigation. Anyone who may have any information that could help with the investigation are asked to get in touch."
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