A fire at one of Britain’s quirkiest pubs that was later demolished is being treated as arson

By PAN PYLAS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Police in central England say they are treating a weekend fire at one of Britain’s quirkiest pubs as arson, two days after it was reduced to rubble by a digger before an investigation into the blaze had even been completed. Staffordshire Police said Wednesday that following an assessment from a specialist fire investigator they believe the fire on Saturday at the 18th-century Crooked House pub in the village of Himley, 130 miles (210 kilometers) northwest of London, “may have been started deliberately.” The outpouring of anger and upset following the fire among locals was compounded on Monday when the shell of the pub was flattened by a mechanical digger.