Elvis the parrot rescued after fire breaks out in pub.

A PUB landlord could have lost his livelihood when a fire started in his property, but his first thought was for his beloved pet parrot, Elvis.

Experts believe a faulty flue lining led to the chimney blaze at the Moor and Pheasant pub, in Dalton, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, on Thursday.

Although no one was hurt, extensive damage was caused to the roof.

Fire crews were called at about 12.30pm after landlord Paul Murray noticed smoke coming from the roof.

After calling the emergency services and evacuating the building, Mr Murray dashed to rescue his feathered friend.

He said: “Elvis was in the front room, directly underneath where the fire was. I ran upstairs and pulled him out of the room.”

Happily, Elvis was not affected by his brush with death.

Mr Murray said: “He is fine, none the worse for it at all.

“It will give him something to squawk about for a few weeks, I should think.”

Mr Murray, who has run the pub for nearly ten years, said firefighters told him that he had seen the emergency just in time.

He added: “They said another ten or 15 minutes and it would have gone up, really taken hold.

“I cannot thank the fire crews from Thirsk and Ripon enough for what they have done.

“They got here quickly and were absolutely fantastic. They spent about two hours here making sure it was all out.”

The fire started in the chimney and quickly spread to the loft above the living quarters on the building’s first floor.

Mr Murray said: “It was lunchtime and we were open, although we were not busy.

“My partner was downstairs and I had just popped out. On my way back in, I saw smoke coming out of the roof tiles, so I ran inside and dialled 999.”

Firefighters said about 12sq metres of the roof was destroyed, but the pub remains open for business.

Mr Murray said: “It has not beaten us. We are still very much open.”