Wetherspoon pub remains shut after 'hidden' fire

A Wetherspoon pub in Shropshire remains closed after a fire started while customers were dining.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was called at about 13:14 on Saturday to the The Hippodrome in Queen Street, Market Drayton. The building was originally the town's first purpose-built cinema, which opened in 1927.

Staff and customers had already been evacuated, and nobody was injured.

The fire service said an investigation found it to be accidental - caused by hot embers from an open fire dropping through a defect in the fireplace.

Upon reaching the scene, the service said the fire was spreading rapidly, both upwards between the first floor and roof space, and horizontally beneath wooden flooring.

There was also concern that the blaze could have spread to the roof, however firefighters contained it to the ground floor.

Damage was caused to the floor, walls and ceiling within the raised seating area inside.

"This was a challenging and complex incident due to hidden fire spread behind wooden panelling and the layout of the building," the fire service said.

Its crews stayed on scene after the fire was out, cutting away burnt timber and damping down.

They returned during the night to re-inspect the site with thermal imaging cameras.

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