Suspected arson attack at former landmark pub in Dudley
A former landmark pub in the Black Country escaped major damage after a fire ripped through it in a suspected arson attack.
Firefighters were called to the blaze in the toilets of the King Arthur pub, at the corner of the Birmingham New Road and Priory Road, in Dudley at 10pm yesterday.
Five crews tackled the fire and prevented it from spreading into the main building. They continued to dampen the fire into the early hours of today before returning at 6am to check it had gone out.
While the toilet area has been left gutted, the main building of the pub, which still contains furniture, had only minor smoke damage.
The pub closed in December 2011 and is to be demolished under plans submitted to Dudley Council in October.
Dudley fire station manager Nigel Hobby said: "Early indications suggest the fire may have been deliberate and was started in a storage area next to the toilets."
The owner of the pub last year secured consent to demolish it, despite calls for it to be preserved. The demolition plans had sparked calls for the building, a 1930s roadhouse, to be preserved.
