'He saved the restaurant from burning down': Telford chef seeks mystery dog-walking hero who prevented fire
The owner of a Telford restaurant is hunting for her mystery dog-walking hero after he saved the building from burning down.
Restaurant 1840 near Dawley narrowly avoided catastrophe early this morning (July 27) largely thanks to the actions of a passing dog walker.
Chef and owner Jelly Tench said she was alerted to movement outside the former Methodist church at around 9.30am.
Checking the cameras, Jelly saw a man with a dog walking up the driveway. But it was something else that sparked her attention - the sound of the restaurant's smoke alarms.
After rushing down to the restaurant, which she has owned for four years, Jelly found the building filled with smoke.
Inside she found a pile of smouldering tea towels atop an oven that had been off for several hours. Fortunately, the fire had not yet taken hold.
Jelly said: "The gentleman stayed until we got here, but he left pretty quickly after.
"He was the only reason we were alerted to it. He heard the alarm and came to check it out; most people would have just carried on walking.
"He's our guardian angel - he saved the church from burning down. It would have taken down the building: there were wooden beams a metre up from where the fire was."
Following the incident, Jelly was hoping to track down her hero to thank him by way of a meal.
"I just want to say the biggest thank you. It's the least he deserves," she said.
