Pretty Shropshire hotel left gutted after devastating blaze

But today, The Mill Hotel in Alveley, lies in ruins after a devastating blaze and all that remains is the memories.

Neighbours have spoken at their shock after waking up to see fire ripping through the empty hotel in their Shropshire village.

Couple Wayne and Joy Hipkiss, who live next to the site, got married at the Mill and described the blaze as a "tragedy".

Mrs Hipkiss, 44, said: "I am shocked, I am absolutely gobsmacked.

"I woke up and I just thought it was the binmen outside making the noise.

"I got up and looked out of the window and it was all fire and smoke, I could not believe it.

"We just looked and I went 'The Mill's on fire'.

"I cannot believe that it was never boarded up and the entrance blocked off to stop people getting on there, surely that would not have taken much."

Mr Hipkiss, 61, added: "We did not hear a thing. We had a window open as well.

"All we heard is a truck and we thought it was the binmen.

"I am just shocked, we got married there - it was a beautiful, beautiful place and it is a tragedy.

"I am guessing it will be flattened now, there will probably be houses built there but who knows.

"We have seen people going in there since it closed, there has been cars going in and you can usually see a car or people going over there. I believe that the residents that lives nearest to the hotel reported people getting on to the site.

"People have stripped lead off the roof, people have just been going over there and helping themselves."

Meanwhile for Peter and Pauline Taft, it was a morning alarm call they did not expect.

The couple live next to The Mill and woke yesterday to a knock on their front door.

Mr Taft said: "We were still in bed when I heard the knocking and I struggled to wake up – but the knocking was persistent, so I got out of bed and went to the window.

"There were two guys standing next to a van, one of them shouted up to me and said did I know the place next door was on fire - that woke me up.

"My wife and I hurried downstairs, ran outside and then we saw that The Mill was on fire.

"I immediately rang the fire brigade and they were on the scene very quickly.

"We stood at the bottom of The Mill's car park and were in no danger from the flames.

"It looked to be a powerful blaze and from what we could see, it seemed to have started in the old part of the The Mill."

The Mill, which overlooks picturesque gardens and a pool, dates back to the 16th Century and was once a working flour mill.

It was popular with couples tying the knot from across the Midlands but it shut its doors unexpectedly in late September.

Staff were left locked out and couples faced a battle over their deposits for weddings.

A Wolverhampton business connected with the hotel – Elysian Care Ltd – which ran Knoll House in Penn in the city and The Homestead care home near Kinver went into administration last year leading to the closure of both homes.