Two men arrested over fire at Crooked House pub in Himley | England

Two men have been arrested over the fire at the Crooked House pub in Himley, Staffordshire police have said.

A 66-year-old man from Dudley and a 33-year-old man from Milton Keynes have been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

The force said both men remained in custody on Thursday and were being questioned by officers.

The wonky pub in the Black Country burned down on 5 August just over a week after being sold to new owners, and was demolished less than two days later, prompting a national outcry.

Police later confirmed they were treating the fire as arson, but said an investigation had not revealed the cause of the blaze.

More than 22,000 people have joined a Facebook group calling for the pub to be rebuilt, and people have camped outside the site to ensure no further damage is done to the remains.

The building, dating back to 1765, was famously sloped at a 16-degree angle due to mining subsidence in the area. It was sold by the brewer Marston’s on 27 July.

Staffordshire fire and rescue said it was called to a fire at the pub at about 10.45pm on 5 August and successfully extinguished the blaze, although fire engines were unable to get close to the building because large mounds of earth were blocking the road leading to it.

The building was completely demolished on 7 August, with South Staffordshire council later saying it had “not agreed to the demolition of the whole structure”, only to some sections being removed for safety reasons, and it was investigating planning breaches.

The events prompted an outpouring of anger among the local community, which has staged multiple protests at the site.

Marco Longhi, the Conservative MP for Dudley North, said he would be pushing for a “Crooked House law” to better protect historic pubs and buildings, while the West Midlands mayor, Andy Street, said he was “laser-focused” on getting the building “rebuilt brick by brick”.

Earlier this week, local residents staged a sit-in protest on the road leading to the pub to prevent lorries from removing any of the rubble.

South Staffordshire council later confirmed it had reached an agreement with the new owners, ATE Farms Ltd, that all bricks would remain on site, and the building’s foundations and slabs would remain to assist investigations.

A spokesperson for Staffordshire police said: “We continue to appeal to anyone with any information which could help us to get in touch. Call 101, quoting incident 761 of 5 August, or message us using Live Chat on our website.

“You can also report anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”