Fly-tippers dump rubbish at Crooked House site

Campaigners fighting to see "Britain's wonkiest inn" rebuilt have said the site has become an environmental disaster.

The group wants to see the Crooked House, in Himley, near Dudley, restored, after it was gutted by a fire in August 2023, before being demolished two days later.

David Shotton, a member of the Save the Crooked House Facebook page, visited the site on Sunday, discovering rubbish including wooden panels, bin bags, and furniture dumped at the entrance of the nearby waste management centre.

The BBC has contacted South Staffordshire Council for a response over the complaints.

Pictures also showed rubbish in the nearby stream.

"The impact this will have on the local wildlife and surrounding area will no doubt suffer in the long term if nothing is done about it fairly soon," said Mr Shotton on Facebook.

Mr Shotton and other members of the group said they had reported fly-tipping in the area on several other occasions.

The Crooked House was first built in 1765 as a farmhouse, but due to mining in the area some years later, one side of the building began to gradually sink, before buttresses were added to support it.

South Staffordshire Council served an enforcement notice on the pub's owners in February that ordered them to rebuild it.

The owners have since lodged an appeal and proposed rebuilding the pub in a different location.

Staffordshire Police said soon after the blaze that it was being treated as arson, and the force went on to arrest six people between August and October last year, but were subsequently released on bail.

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