Crooked House fire suspects released from bail – police

Six people arrested in connection with the fire which gutted the Crooked House pub have been released from their bail but remain under investigation, police have said.

Five men and a woman, aged between 23 and 66, were questioned by officers last year on suspicion of a variety of arson-related offences after the historic building in Himley, near Dudley in the West Midlands , was badly damaged on August 5.

The remains of the building, regarded as Britain’s wonkiest pub, were demolished without permission within 48 hours of the fire, and its owners are facing council-backed enforcement action requiring them to rebuild it by February 2027.

All six suspects were released on bail last year without being charged with any offence.

A statement issued by Staffordshire Police on Tuesday said: “The six people that were arrested have been released from bail and are now released under investigation.

“Our investigation is ongoing.”

Those arrested have not been identified but were said at the time of their arrests to be a 66-year-old man from Dudley, a 51-year-old man from Buckingham , a 33-year-old man from Milton Keynes, two men from Leicestershire aged 23 and 44, and a woman aged 34, also from Leicestershire.

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