England cricketer Stuart Broad says his pub in Upper Broughton going up in flames 'hurts right now'

A fire at a pub part-owned by England cricketer Stuart Broad has left him feeling "hurt" and in disbelief. The Tap and Run in Upper Broughton was the centre of a major incident on Saturday.

Crews from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue arrived on the scene at around 3.20am. Nobody was hurt by the blaze, Broad said.

The cricketer, who was playing at Trent Bridge against New Zealand on Saturday, said he was in shock and the news “hurts right now”. He added: “Thankfully no one was hurt, the Nottinghamshire Fire Service were incredible in their efforts & thank you to the villagers for the wonderful support & sorry for the disruption. “Thinking of our awesome staff today, every single person there has created a special pub for the community. It hurts right now but we will come out the other side.”

A spokeswoman for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "The time of call was 3.22 this morning. It's a public house premises and we have had eight engines in attendance, one aerial ladder platform, water carrier, command support vehicle.

"It was a building of two floors, 15 metres by 30 metres, the area of the building. The fire was in the first floor and roof.

"They have used two main jets and then two hose reel jets."

The pub is located close to Melton near the border between the two counties and is co-owned by Broad and former Nottinghamshire seamer Harry Gurney.

Kirit Chauham, who has lived in the village for the past six years, said: "We woke up and knew something wasn’t quite right as we had no water, that was at around 5.30am.

"We looked on Twitter and then found out what was happening. It’s a nice pub, it’s going to be a real shame as it will set it back probably a year at least, to be honest.

"They might have to rebuild it and I feel very sorry for all the staff, too. It’s been a great community pub. Before they [Broad and Gurney] came it was quite run down and they have really turned it around. It’s a real shame."

John Hill, 60, who has lived in the village for the past 20 years, said: "I hadn’t heard about it - that is very sad. It’s a great pub.

"We do go there, although not as much as we should really."

Ben Rookes, who lives only a few metres away from the pub, told NottinghamshireLive: "My wife looked at the village WhatsApp, that’s how I found out about it. I remember hearing something between 3am and 4am - it was like a tapping sound.

"I think it was the fire crews getting the water from the road. It is devastating, to be honest, for everybody.

"The pub is doing brilliantly, it’s always busy, you struggle to get in on weekends.

"It’s really become part of the community now. It’s devastating for the guys. It’s one of the best pubs in Nottinghamshire and to have it in the village is amazing. It’s devastating what has happened."

Janet Newbury, 84, was told about the fire on Saturday morning.

She said: "It’s terrible. I don’t live in the village but I have family who do. We go in quite a lot - it’s very popular. No-one can get through Main Road now, they’ve blocked it all off."

A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue added that two appliances were sent out to the scene around 4am. One crew from Leicester is still at the scene and a fire investigation is yet to be launched.

One neighbour said she was woken by smoke in her bedroom around 3.30am.

She said: "It's mayhem here. It's an absolute uproar. I woke up because I realised my room was full of smoke and I thought it was my own house that was on fire.

"I looked outside the window but I couldn't see anything but thick black smoke, it was terrible."

The village venue was formerly known as The Golden Fleece. It had been closed for almost two years before the cricketing duo of England and Nottinghamshire cricketers Stuart Broad and Harry Gurney took it on and transformed it into a stylish yet cosy gastropub.

They opened their venue in September 2018 and it's been a hit ever since.

Earlier this year it was named as one of Britain's top 30 places to visit for a Sunday lunch by The Times, which picked out a selection of places that serve up a top notch roast.