Arson attack in Bilston prompts pub blaze and vehicle fires, police detain man
41-year-old detained after arson attack on Bilston pub; seven nearby vehicles set alight, police say
A 41-year-old man has been detained after an arson attack damaged a pub in Bilston and sparked seven vehicle fires in nearby streets, West Midlands Police said. Emergency services were called just before 4am on Thursday to a suspected arson attack on a pub on Church Street, Bilston, where the front of the building was damaged. Moments later, seven vehicles were seen ablaze on Shale Street nearby, prompting a rapid police response.
West Midlands Police said officers detained the man in the area on suspicion of arson and that he will be questioned in due course. In a police statement, the force said they arrested a man in connection with a series of fires following swift work by officers in Wolverhampton this morning; they were alerted to a suspected arson attack on a pub in Church Street that damaged the front of the building just before 4am, and shortly afterwards seven vehicles caught fire in nearby Shale Street. The investigation is being treated as arson and further details will be released by police as the inquiry proceeds.