Digger used to tear down Crooked House pub 'was hired and delivered before fire'

12 August 2023 , 21:45

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Digger used to tear down Crooked House pub 'was hired and delivered before fire'

The digger used to tear down the UK's wonkiest pub less than 24 hours after a fire ripped through it was hired and delivered before the blaze, it has been claimed.

Crooked House, an 18th century boozer, near Dudley, West Midlands, was famed for its wonky walls was destroyed in a fire, which is now being investigated by police. Footage taken less than a day later showed someone taking an excavator to what was left of the building to pull it down.

Staffordshire Council is investigating whether the demolition was illegal.

Now Lyndon Thomas, the boss of the plant firm that owns the excavator, has spoken out to say his firm had delivered it a week-and-a-half ago. He told Construction News: “If you give me your insurance and all your details and I deliver [equipment] to you, what can I do? I have done nothing wrong,”

A digger was used to pull the pub down (Matthew Cooper/PA Wire)

“We just hire a digger to a customer. I can’t be responsible for what they do with the machinery. I’m not Mystic Meg.”

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Mr Thomas said since the incident his company has been inundated with phone calls and employees have been sent “horrific” abusive emails. He said: “They are not very nice. We’ve had a lot of people ringing the phone and putting it down again.”

It has been reported that Carly Taylor, 34, said to be the director of ATE Farms Ltd, bought the pub after it was listed at £675,000. Reports also claimed that her husband, Adam Taylor, 44, was a shareholder and former director of Himley Environmental Ltd.

Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Chisholm, Head of Specialist Crime at Staffordshire Police, said: “We understand the significance of this much-loved building and the upset and anger felt by many so want to reassure you we’re doing all we can to understand more about what happened, and who was responsible.

The blaze on Saturday evening (BPM Media)

“There is lots of misinformation circulating within communities and online and this is unhelpful. We’re trying to provide accurate and timely updates, but as I am sure you can appreciate, there is a lot of work and liaison with a number of partners which needs to be completed and this takes time.

“There are also certain things that police and fire do not have the powers to deal with, the decision around partial demolition of the building for example, when the scene was handed back to the owner. We are working hard with our fire colleagues to understand the cause of the fire and are in contact with the landowner, we will keep you updated with any further significant developments.”

Kelly-Ann Mills