Pub destroyed in arson attack

See also: Pub destroyed by fire

Twenty firefighters tackled the blaze with water jets and an aerial platform but were unable to prevent the White Hart, in Hinkshay Road, Dawley, from being destroyed.

It was the third suspicious fire at derelict pubs in Telford in the past month. The alarm was raised shortly before 7am today at the White Hart which has been boarded up since it closed last August.

Station Officer Neil Grove said: "The building was well alight when firefighters arrived. It had obviously been burning for several hours and flames were coming out of the roof and from all three floors.

"Appliances from Telford Central and Wellington attended. The first officer in charge was faced with a fully developed fire and requested the aerial platform from Shrewsbury."

The fire was so fierce and the building's structure so dangerous that firefighters could not enter the pub. They remained outside damping down, spraying water from the aerial platform after the roof collapsed.

Station Officer Grove added: "The fire is of doubtful origin. The cause will be investigated by fire service and police. This is the third fire at a boarded up pub in Telford within a short period."

The other two empty pubs destroyed by suspicious blazes were the Red Admiral in Sutton Hill and the Black Horse in Oakengates, which both caught fire on March 11.

The White Hart has been a target for vandals and arsonists since it closed last summer. It was owned by Admiral Taverns and run for the previous four years by Gary Hill, who built it up into a popular venue for the town's gay community, running an annual gay pride day there.

Wolverhampton-based developers Bentley Homes recently applied to turn the pub into two homes with another 12 new houses nearby. But Telford & Wrekin Council rejected the plan, saying it would be an eyesore and turn a potentially attractive site into something like a suburban housing estate.

Picture by Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service.

By Peter Johnson