IN PICTURES: Time called as fire hit pub demolished to make way for 30 homes
Demolition work has started on a fire-stricken former Stafford pub ahead of plans to build more than 30 homes on the site.
The Westway pub, on the Highfields estate, will be replaced with 18 apartments and 14 houses, under the plan by Dovetail Land and Development and Stafford and Rural Homes (SARH).
The demolition comes after a blaze was started deliberately, just hours after complaints about anti-social behaviour at the site were reported to police, on December 7.
At the height of the blaze, nine crews from Stafford, Gnosall, Penkridge, Stone, Eccleshall, Rugeley, Rising Brook, Longton and Lichfield were called in to help, with officers describing it as a 'large-scale incident'.
The roof of the pub collapsed, with the fire spreading throughout the two floors of the building.
The final firefighters left the scene 22 hours after it started.
The pub is situated in the middle of a housing estate and neighbours closest to the scene were evacuated from their homes and surrounding roads were closed.
Group manager Brian Griffiths from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue described the fire as 'severe' and said it had 'completely destroyed the building'.
The pub shut in 2013 after more than 50 years' of trading.
It came two years after regulars fought to keep the pub from being demolished and a care home built in its place.
Stafford Borough Council planning committee announced that they recommended to approve plans of building the homes on the site in September.
Residents had initially started a campaign to keep the pub up and running in 2011, with around 400 people signing a petition at that time.
