Fire at derelict Tipton pub after vandal attack
A blaze was started at derelict pub when vandals broke inside and set fire to rubbish.
The fire-ravaged Dudley Port pub in Tipton has been shut since a blaze wreaked part of the building around four years ago.
Firefighters were called out today after household rubbish had been gathered together and torched on the ground floor.
Crews believe someone forced entry through boarded up doors before starting the fire at around 3pm yesterday.
Fire crews from Tipton and Dudley stations were able to get inside and quickly put the blaze out.
Ambulance crews in the area had stopped to help but no-one was discovered inside following a search.
Emergency services came away from the pub, on the A461 Dudley Port near the junction with Sedgley Road East, within the hour.
Watch commander Keith Hampton, from Tipton fire station, said: "We have been called out here before.
"They have trouble keeping it secure. We believe someone climbed in and started the fire.
"It was just normal rubbish, like paper, and household stuff, that was set alight.
"We have temporarily secured the building and will inform the local authority to check it as well."
Fire ripped through the pub in May 2009 while a barman slept upstairs in the early hours.
It has been boarded up ever since although there are plans to turn the pub into an Indian restaurant.
