Fire ravages kitchen of CAMRA award-winning pub

Four fire engines raced to the Unicorn Inn in Canterbury after reports came in that the pub was on fire and a man was trapped in the building.

The man, reported to be in his 50s or 60s, was retrieved from the building and treated for smoke inhalation by paramedics. However, they deemed hospital treatment was not required.

Speaking to the Kent & Sussex Courier, ​Blue Watch manager Mike Godden said the whole street had been filled with smoke.

Smoke inhalation​

Godden told the local paper: “Another crew put in a search of the building but there were no other people inside. The fire was brought under control pretty quickly, but crews remained at the scene until 7am to damp down and cut away damaged areas of the building.”

A fire investigation crew called to the scene reported that an electrical fault in a kitchen appliance was to blame for the blaze.

The pub’s kitchen was completely destroyed.

Kind words

Following the fire, a post on the Unicorn Inn's Facebook page read: "Thank you for all your kind words and offers of help. We now have power restored and we are cleaning up as much as we can.

"We will be open tomorrow as usual, but with a slight whiff of smoke in the air. As for food, it's bring your own until things are sorted."

The Unicorn Inn was previously named CAMRA pub of the year in 2014 for the Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable area and featured in the organisation’s 2016 Good Beer Guide​.

Unruly Pig​

Sussex gastropub the Unruly Pig was severely damaged​ when it caught fire early one morning in June 2015.

The blaze, which destroyed roughly 30% of the pub, took 50 firefighters to extinguish.

However, following months of renovations, owner Brendan Padfield reopened the site in November. The Unruly Pig was named as one of six finalists for Best Food Pub in this year's Great British Pub Awards​.