Wellesbourne landlord heartbroken after fire destroys pub

The landlord of a Wellesbourne pub has described her devastation after a fire destroyed the building early on Monday morning.

The fire was reported by several nearby residents just before 1am on Monday, and seven fire engines were called to the scene, spending five hours extinguishing the blaze.

Co-landlord Kelly Parker Jackson said: “We’re devastated. You get down there and don’t expect what you find. It was just totally ablaze. My sister got there a few minutes before the fire crews, and it was just surreal.

“The people that do live on site were actually away and we'd got one of our members of staff looking after the place, but they’d evacuated so thankfully no one was hurt. We have to count our blessings.”

The Grade II listed building had stood for 150 years and was a long-standing centre of community life in the village.

Kelly explained: “It’s been our home from home for 23 years. Our Mum had it from 1998 and lived there, and then when she died we took it on. Our kids have all gone there and we’ve all spent a lot of time in the place.

“We’ve always been the hub of the village. When Mum and her partner Colin took it over it was just before the floods that Wellesbourne had, and it was the hub then. People were sitting on stools with their legs in the air, they were offering hot meals, and really assisting the community at a difficult time.”

Warwickshire police arrested a 30-year-old male from Wellesbourne shortly after 2am Monday morning.

A Warwickshire police spokesperson said: “The suspect has been released under investigation while enquiries continue.”

Read the full story in tomorrow’s edition of the Stratford Herald.