'Pub destroyed in arson attack'

A bar favoured by MPs at party conferences in Blackpool was destroyed in a suspected arson attack early yesterday. A 21-year-old man was held on suspicion of starting the fire. Yates's Wine Lodge had just had a £1million refit - The Daily Mirror​

Three young rugby fans were found dead in an overturned car yesterday after lying undiscovered for hours. They are thought to have been driving home after celebrating Wales' 23-15 win over England when they crashed near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in the early hours. The car skidded off a country road and smashed through a wall, flipping over before landing in a pub car park. Landlord Anthony Thomas, who found them when he arrived at 8am, said: "It was really horrific. I could see three lads - all quite young. I was just in complete shock when I found them" - The Daily Mirror​

A pub is up for sale for a pound — less than half the cost of a pint. The chain that owns the three-storey boozer is so desperate to keep it going it has slashed the £10,000 asking price for the lease. Would-be landlords of the Great Western can move in for just a quid — although they must still pay rent and buy their beer from Enterprise Inns - The Sun​

Pub staff in a Northumberland town have been given radios so they can warn each other of potential disorder. Twelve of the two-way devices have been distributed to licensed premises in the Cramlington area - BBC​

Clubs and pubs in Norwich city centre are using a new internet system to root out troublemakers. Anyone caught behaving inappropriately will be photographed and their image stored on a secure website so they can be refused entry to other venues. It follows the success of an identical system operating in Great Yarmouth - BBC​

A prospective pub landlord says the police insistence on him installing CCTV cameras to film everyone entering his pub threatens his customers' civil liberties. Nick Gibson says he has been in a "silent rage" since the police outlined conditions to his licence application, which also requires him to hand over any film of drinkers on request - The Guardian​

Punch Taverns, the embattled pub operator, is inviting tenants of its 7,560 leased pubs to make offers for their pubs as it seeks to reduce its debt burden, though it does not necessarily expect to sell many more than the 500 it put up for sale in November. The group has also committed to allow rents linked to the retail prices index to fall in line with the expected decline in RPI - The Times​