The Worlds End pub in Tilbury, a Grade II-listed building, has been severely damaged by a major fire this evening, marking the fourth blaze at the site since Sunday. Firefighters battled the flames as explosions were heard inside and debris flew above a water tower, with the pub's roof destroyed in the incident.
Fourth fire in less than a week
This latest fire follows previous call-outs on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, which involved fires affecting general waste, pallets, grass and containers. The pub had also been damaged by a fire in September 2018, which affected around 20 per cent of its exterior.
A major emergency response was launched, with six fire engines and police attending the scene. Tony Burent, a nearby resident who once frequented the pub, told the Southend Echo: "I live just over the railway tracks, I used to go in there all the time before it closed. When I heard what was happening I had to come down to see for myself, it's really sad because it was one of the oldest pubs around here and now it looks like it's gone forever."
Community reaction to the blaze
Andy Shrewsbury, who also lives nearby, described the scene as "a piece of history we're watching burn to the ground, it's a complete tragedy." He added: "The community have lost something really valuable here and the size of the fire is really alarming, you can see it for miles. I think the fire brigade will be here all night tackling it, but it's scary because you don't know what's been kept in there, we've already heard explosions."
Burent expressed little hope for the pub's future, stating: "Sadly now with the scale of what's happened I don't see any chance a pub will be back here again."
Ongoing investigation
Essex Fire and Rescue has been contacted for comment. The repeated incidents and the scale of the latest fire raise questions about the site's safety and the potential causes of the successive blazes, though no official statement has yet been released.
