Pub blaze in Arundel

Firefighters from Littlehampton, Arundel and Worthing attended the fire at The King’s Arms, in Tarrant Street, shortly before 11am, on Thursday.

Crews, armed with four breathing apparatus, three high-pressure hose reels and a thermal imaging camera, combated the fire at the 17th century hostelry for more than an hour.

The Red Cross support unit was also on hand to assist the pub’s owners, while firefighters tackled the blaze.

Despite the fire, which saw a couple of rooms on the first floor damaged by smoke and flames, The King’s Arms’ landlord Charlie Malcolmson declared it was business as usual, with the pub opening just a matter of hours after the blaze.

And in spite of the damage, organisers have stressed that the inaugural pancake tossing event – set to flip-off next month – will still go ahead as planned.

The pancake action will begin at 2pm on March 2 with the children’s competition, followed by adults at 3pm and teams of up to four people at 4pm – with the King’s Arms’ team all set to take the honours.

Pancakes and frying pans will be provided.

Rules are going on display in the pub and medals will be presented to the winners.