Fire at Hertfordshire pub's £25k outdoor area 'was arson'

A fire that destroyed a pub's new £25,000 outdoor area a day before it was due to reopen is thought to have been started deliberately.

Firefighters were called to The White Horse at Tea Green near Luton at about 08:00 BST on Wednesday.

Hertfordshire Police said it believed the fire was started at about 01:00 BST and it was being treated as arson.

The force called for any witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.

The "secret garden" area, designed for family celebrations and weddings, had been built as Covid restrictions were relaxed to allow people in pub gardens, and included a children's play area, lights and a fire pit.

The pub reopened as planned at 11:00 BST on Thursday and a message on its Facebook page said it was "not the opening we had planned".

In the post, landlord John Haines said he wanted to "thank everyone for their support over the last 24 hours".

"The team and I are still in shock but, we've built our business on the support of the local community and will strive to come back stronger for you," he added.

Mr Haines told the BBC it was "overwhelming" that a GoFundMe page had raised more than £3,500 so far.

"We just hope we can rely on the support of our community going forward so we can rebuild this amazing thing for us and for them," he said.

"It's heart-breaking. You put a lot of your own personal time, finance and efforts into it and you just want to do the best you can in this current climate."

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue was called at 08:06 - when the fire was discovered - and said that it had been put out by 09:56.

Under government restrictions, venues can currently only serve customers sitting outdoors in groups of up to six people, or from two households.

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