THE owners of arson-hit The Crooked House pub also have links to a large fire in Bucks that has reportedly never been explained. 

The couple who own Britain's 'wonkiest pub', The Crooked House in Dudley, which burned down on August 5 and is being treated as arson by local authorities, have links to a fire that took place in Bucks back in 2018.

Almost exactly five years ago, in August 2018, four hundred tonnes of waste caught fire at a landfill site owned by AT Contracting and Plant Hire Ltd near Finmere on the Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire border.

Firefighters worked through the night to extinguish the blaze and the national press has reported that the cause of the fire was never confirmed.

Adam Taylor is the director of AT Contracting and Plant Hire Ltd, which still owns the Finmere landfill site, and his wife Carly controls the company ATE Farms Ltd, which purchased The Crooked House less than a month before its destruction. She also reportedly plays a role within her husband's company. 

READ MORE: Map of snake sightings around Buckinghamshire as dog owners urged to be cautious

Earlier this month, the 18th-century pub in the West Midlands burned down just days after Historic England received a request to add it to their listed buildings register.

Demolition of the pub's remaining structure has prompted further outrage after a digger was seen at the site immediately following the blaze without the appropriate council permissions.

Lee Goodchild, the former landlord of The Crooked House told The Daily Mail that he had felt "let down" by the sale of the pub to the Taylors by Marston's PLC in July, adding that the local community as a whole was "devastated".

"They've sold off one of the oldest pubs around. It's massively known in the area, and worldwide in fact, but it's their pub to sell and it was an expensive place to run - but does the unique heritage of the site outweigh the cost?"

He added that he was disappointed to hear that the pub had gone up in flames following the transfer of ownership.

A Change.org petition started after the fire on August 8 has gained over 14,000 signatures calling for ATE Farms Ltd to "rebuild the building in full, brick by brick".

Council and police enquiries into the fire and the demolition of the pub are ongoing, with Staffordshire Police continuing to treat it as a suspected arson.