The Wybourn: Sheffield pub goes up in flames in fire believed to have been started deliberately

Firefighters were called to The Wybourn pub on Cricket Inn Road, just outside Sheffield city centre, in the early hours of this morning, Thursday, June 8. A video showed flames leaping from the roof, sending sparks and thick smoke spiralling into the night sky.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said it was called at 12.25am today to the derelict pub, also known as Wybourn Hotel. It sent three crews, who spent more than an hour and a half battling the blaze before leaving the scene at 2.10am. A spokesperson for the fire service said the fire is believed to have been started deliberately. They added that there were no reports of any casualties.

Plans to demolish the pub and use the site as a car sales display area with car wash, employing three full-time and six part-time staff, were conditionally approved by Sheffield Council in March this year. Similar proposals had been rejected last year due to the lack of information provided at the time, concerns about the impact of noise on neighbouring residents, and the extra traffic it could generate, raising safety issues.

However, planning officers said the revised plans addressed those concerns by widening the access, providing turning space within the grounds and introducing ‘sound attenuation measures’. They imposed a number of conditions, including that no customers would be allowed on the premises outside of 8am-6pm Monday to Saturday.

According to the planning application, the pub had been vacant since April 1, 2021.