Two men have been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after a man was taken to hospital after a blaze at a disused pub. The men aged 26 and 24, both from Hitchin, were arrested after the emergency services were called sho

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after a man was taken to hospital after a blaze at a disused pub. The men aged 26 and 24, both from Hitchin, were arrested after the emergency services were called shortly before 3.30am this morning (Monday) to a fire in the former Orchard And Anvil Pub on Nightingale Road in Hitchin.

The fire which had begun on the ground floor had taken hold on the first floor by the time four fire crews from Hitchin, Stevenage and Baldock arrived.

Three men, believed to have been squatting in the empty building, were found outside the pub when the emergency services arrived and fire fighters rescued a dog still in the burning building.

A fire spokesman said one of the men was later taken to hospital.

Nightingale Road and Grove Road were closed while crews tackled the blaze which was declared out just before 5.30am.

The police urge anyone who may have seen suspicious behaviour at the time of the fire to call police as soon as possible on the non-emergency number 0845 3300222.