A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson as part of the investigation into the fire at the Crooked House pub, which caused nationwide outcry.
Staffordshire police said a 34-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man, both from Leicestershire, had been arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent or being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
The force previously arrested three men aged 66, 51 and 33 on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, and they have all been released on conditional police bail while the investigation continues.
The famously wonky pub in Himley, Staffordshire, burned down in a fire on 5 August, less than two weeks after being sold by the pub company Marston’s to ATE Farms Limited.
The whole building was then demolished less than 48 hours later, with South Staffordshire council later saying it was investigating planning breaches as it had not “agreed to the demolition of the whole structure”.
The pub, which started life as a farmhouse in 1765 before becoming a public house in about 1830, was famous for its warped appearance, caused by mining subsidence in the area.
More than 30,000 people have joined a Facebook group calling for the Crooked House to be rebuilt, and campaigners worked with building contractors to secure 25,000 bricks salvaged from the rubble, which have been stored in locked containers on site.
Last week, the West Midlands combined authority (WMCA) and the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) launched a campaign around historic pubs in the region and encourage residents to “list your local” by submitting details of pubs of historical significance.
Gary Timmins, Camra’s director of pub and club campaigns, said: “Developers continue to flout the rules with pubs routinely converted or demolished without permissions in place, denying people the chance to save their local. We are also campaigning to give councils more powers to save and reinstate pubs after the Crooked House incident and call on the government to use the Autumn budget statement to extend vital help with business rates.”
Police said they were still asking for people to come forward with information about what happened at the Crooked House at the time of the fire.
The site of the pub has attracted a number of protests and a 24-hour watch led by local residents in order to monitor and protect the building remains.
Police said a man had been arrested and released on bail after violence broke out at the site earlier this month. Officers said a man and woman, who had been assaulted, had got into a car and hit a woman as they tried to leave.
