Fire at Grade II* listed Bilston pub treated as arson

A fire which badly damaged a Grade II* listed pub was being treated as arson, police said.

Firefighters were called to the Greyhound and Punchbowl on High Street, Bilston, at about 03:40 BST on Saturday.

No one was hurt but the fire service said the building, constructed in the 16th Century, was damaged by the flames and smoke.

Witnesses were urged to come forward by West Midlands Police.

The fire was put out by 05:20 BST and a quarter of the ground floor was damaged by the flames, the fire service said

The whole three-storey building suffered smoke damage.

A structural engineer was called and they said the building was unsafe to enter on Saturday, a brigade spokesman said.

The fire was described as terrible news by resident Billy Badu who visited the site.

"I thought it was very sad to see such a beautiful building that is probably hundreds of years old, going up in a fire," he added.

The pub building dates back to the middle of the 16th Century and was originally known as Stoke Heath Manor House.

It was restored in the 1930s when a concrete skin was added to the timber frame, Historic England said.

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