Crooked House bricks locked away for safety in 'padlocking ceremony'

A "padlocking ceremony" has taken place at the site of The Crooked House in Himley, near Dudley - exactly four weeks after the pub went up in flames.

More than 25,000 bricks were salvaged from the site after a deal was struck between the demolition teams and the 'Save the Crooked House' campaign group.

They were then placed in two metal containers, with one key to the padlock in the hands of campaigners, and the other, is in the hands of the contractors.

Campaigners said the padlocking was necessary to ensure they are not touched until they are satisfied a rebuild is going to take place.

"We wanted to protect them [the bricks]," says Paul Turner who is the leader of the campaign group. "We want them to stay there until we're in a position to rebuild the Crooked House."

Around 200 people turned up for the ceremony, with entertainment from local singer Black Country Daz and refreshments.

Marco Longhi, MP for Dudley North, has been part of the talks with the South Staffordshire Council and Staffordshire Police to secure the site. He says he'll make sure what's happened at The Crooked House is on the agenda when he returns to Parliament following Recess.

• Marco Longhi says he will lobby his fellow MPs to ensure the correct legislation is in place that protects assets of this 'enormous value'

South Staffordshire Council has placed restrictions on the site that mean no materials can be removed without permission, and workers have gone through the rubble by hand to carefully pack up all the bricks.

It is also conducting its own investigation into the demolition. Two men arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life over the fire were released under conditional bail, Staffordshire Police said.