Cricket star Broad is devastated after his pub is destroyed in fire
ENGLAND cricketer Stuart Broad has been left ‘devastated’ after the pub he owns was gutted by fire.
Eight fire engines were sent to the award-winning Tap and Run in the village of Upper Broughton, on the border of Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, after the alarm was raised at 3.22am yesterday.
But the fire crews were unable to save the two-storey building, coowned by the 35-year-old and his former England team-mate Harry Gurney, as the flames devoured the top floor and the roof.
The blaze continued into the afternoon – and as smoke poured out of the pub, nearby residents were warned to keep their doors and windows closed.
In a joint statement, Broad – a columnist for The Mail on Sunday, who is engaged to singer and Radio 1 presenter Mollie King – and Gurney said: ‘We are heartbroken to see our beautiful pub up in flames. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
‘We are sorry for any distress the fire has caused the villagers.’
The cricketing pals refurbished the pub in 2018 and last year it won Pub of the Year in Leicestershire.
Kirit Chauham, who has lived in the village for six years, told Leicestershire Live: ‘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.’
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was ‘believed to be an accidental fire’. Broad’s teammate Jimmy Anderson said: ‘It’s obviously gutting because it’s such a huge part of his and Harry’s life.’
Broad’s misery was compounded when he turned out for England yesterday in the Second Test against New Zealand who finished their first innings with 553 runs to take command of the game.