BRITAIN'S "wonkiest pub" has been totally destroyed by an overnight blaze.
The Crooked House, in Himley, Staffordshire, caught fire at around 10pm last night – days after it was sold.
Staffordshire and West Midlands fire services raced to the scene on Himley Road to battle the flames but could not contain the inferno.
A witness told the Express & Star: "I went up to my yard to check on my horses and could see a lot of smoke coming from the area of The Crooked House so we drove closer to have a look and could see that it was on fire."
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Following the devastating blaze, the former landlord wrote on Facebook: "So after 10 months of hard work very long hours and constant obstacles it's quiet annoying to see your place of business end up like this…
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"Time effort gone, money gone, and one of the greatest buildings / oldest pub and heritage gone."
And one local fumed: "It is absolutely disgusting that part of our local history has been destroyed like this."
Pictures taken this morning show the smouldering remains of the quirky 192-year-old watering hole.
A police forensics team were spotted in the pub car park investigating the fire.
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Once dubbed "Britain's wonkiest pub", the boozer was put on the market by brewers Marston's in March with a guide price of £675,000.
Following a June break in, which caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage and saw one person arrested, the landlord was told on July 7 they had to cease trading.
The pub later announced on Facebook: "The Crooked House has been sold.
"Unlikely to be open its doors again. Marston's have sold the site to a private buyer for alternative use."
The sale left locals fearing it would never be used as a pub again and a petition was launched to save it.
As of Saturday night it had attracted more than 3,500 signatures.
The building was constructed in 1765 as a farmhouse but became a pub in the 1830s with people flocking to see how one side is 4ft (1.2m) lower than the other.
Originally called 'The Siden House', meaning crooked in Black Country dialect – the pub got its bizarre effect through subsidence caused by mining in the 1800s.
The Crooked House became known for being the place where coins and marbles seemingly rolled uphill along the bar.
The slanted structure is kept standing as a result of being propped up by buttresses made of bricks and metal bars.
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The Crooked House had been a Grade II listed building since 1960.
The Sun has approached Staffordshire Police for comment.
TIMELINE TO DISASTER
March – Marston's brewers put The Crooked House on the market.
June 25 – Break in causes tens of thousands of pounds of internal and external damage. One person arrested.
July 8 – Marston's tell landlord that damage caused by break-in means they have to cease trading.
July 27 – Landlord announces sale of The Crooked House on Facebook.
August 7 – Fire destroys the pub.
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