SHOCKED residents say their beloved local pub was "gutted" by Adam Taylor – before the Crooked House went up in flames.

The businessman, 44, also owns the Sarah Mansfield pub in the rural village of Willey, Warwickshire, after purchasing the site in 2020.

The boozer is located just five miles from his gated home between Hinckley and Lutterworth in Leicestershire, where he lives with glamorous wife Carly Taylor, 34.

Mr Taylor bought the pub with the intention of "gutting in and turning it into rental accommodation", a local has revealed.

The woman, who declined to be named for fear of recrimination, said: "The new owner did just that, he bought it and in two to three days he got his team of workers in, the skips were in place, and they gutted it.

"They ripped out everything to the outrage and upset from local people – the plaster, the plumbing, the electrics, it is a shell.

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"He sought planning permission to create rental rooms and claimed he would keep part of the premises as a pub.

"He wanted to cash in with rentals, and build two new houses in the car park."

The local said all 75 residents in the village objected to his plans.

She described the pub as "the heart" of the community, but said Mr Taylor had "ripped that out".

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Villagers had fought to preserve the pub and efforts to have it established as "an asset of community value" were initially approved.

However, the decision was overturned on appeal.

Plans to build houses on part of the pub's car park were thrown out by Rugby Borough Council in August last year.

It had also been hoped six upstairs bedrooms would be let out, but councillors unanimously rejected the application.

Residents claim tradespeople with diggers and skips were at the pub the following day ripping out the interior.

The woman added: "He has kept the pub, or to be precise no pub, on the market.

"Originally he had it on the market for £675,00 and then over the months it dropped to £425,000.

"He put up 'Pub for Sale' signs at each end of the village which were obstructing residents and he was made to take them down.

"That man is a law unto himself – he does whatever he wants, whenever he wants with no regard to anyone else."

Retired sales manager Jerry Brookes told The Sun Online: "The pub was the hub of our village then Mr Taylor came along and bought it three years ago and gutted it inside soon afterwards.

"The council stopped him demolishing it completely and it has been derelict ever since.

"He started off wanting to build three houses at the back but that was rejected, then it went down to two which he won on appeal.

"He then applied to renovate the pub and build six letting rooms above, which again he won on appeal."

Jerry, a 69-year-old resident, added: "We just want something to be done so we can all enjoy the pub again and not let it stand as a disintegrating eye sore in the middle of our village.

"It’s disappointing and very sad on how it’s been left – it was the heart and centre of our village.

"We’re only a tiny village, 75-80 people and 32 houses.

“Every Friday evening half the village would come to the bar and snug to socialise. It was important to to and we’ve lost it.

“In an ideal world we would like it to continue being a pub. It needs tidying up and put back to use as a functioning building.”

Another resident said: "All we want is the pub to be restored to its former glory, and we hope that will happen.

"No village wants to lose its only pub but it seems that breweries are selling them off all over to earn a lot of money.

"Adam Taylor came bought it and soon afterwards ripped it to pieces. We definitely don’t want it to be turned into houses, we want it back as a pub for our little community."

A fellow villager said: "We know Mr Taylor by reputation and when we heard it was his new Crooked House pub bulldozed, it was a weird feeling of deja vu.

"He drives around in a Bentley with personalised plates AT1."

It comes as The Crooked House went up in flames on Saturday night.

Just 36 hours later, its scorched remains were flattened by mechanical diggers at the site.

South Staffordshire Council has said the demolition of the building was carried out "without permission".

The pub had been put forward for listed status protection just days before it became rubble.

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It would have meant that the owners would have needed permission from the council to fully demolish it before doing so.

Its lawyers are now looking into potential breaches of the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act.

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