IN PICTURES: Huge blaze guts Pudding and Pint pub

Crews from Perry Barr, Erdington and Aston were on the scene at the former Pudding & Pint pub on Kingstanding Road after the fire broke out before 8pm on Tuesday.

The pub was regularly used by homeless people as a shelter, according to locals, but firefighters found no-one inside. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Reinforcements and a hydraulic platform were rushed to the site as flames ripped through the roof of the property, while police and paramedics were also at the scene along with the water and electricity board.

The fire was eventually put out at about 9.30pm when the operation became a 'search and rescue' mission.

West Midlands Fire Service advised nearby residents to keep windows and doors closed.

Neighbours also supplied fire crews with refreshments throughout the night as crews continued to tackle the flames.

A spokesman for the fire service said: "Following a thorough search of the building, the investigation is now closed. "Nobody was found. A member of the public advised us that homeless people regularly use the pub as a place to stay so we had to treat it as persons reported.

"Safe, effective and assertive firefighting has worked well to bring incident to a close."

Once the fire had been extinguished and the scene made safe, emergency crews and staff from water and electric suppliers remained at the site.

Kingstanding Road was closed in both directions between Tresham Road and Hotspur Road while firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control.