'Life and soul' landlady died in freak fire at country pub

VACUUM CLEANER BATTERY BLAMED

- STAFF REPORTER

A beloved pub landlady lost her life in a devastating fire, sparked by an exploding battery in her cordless vacuum cleaner, an inquest heard.

Ann Michelle Male, 58, known as Annie, succumbed to smoke inhalation after the blaze ripped through her country pub, the Fighting Cocks Inn, inset below, in Stottesdon, Shropshire, on July 14 this year.

Emergency services were alerted to the incident at around 6.52pm when neighbours spotted smoke billowing from a window.

Firefighters forced entry into the pub and discovered the source of the fire in a bedroom, where they were met with thick black smoke.

Using a thermal imaging camera, officers located Mrs Male, unresponsive on the room’s floor.

Despite immediate CPR efforts by firefighters, which were continued by paramedics upon their arrival, Mrs Male was pronounced dead at 7.40pm.