With Smarden also home to The Flying Horse and The Bell, she added that “such a small village cannot sustain all three pubs”. “The last six months have shown us the worst in people’s ...

The Chequers Inn in Smarden, near Ashford, faced an uncertain future after its previous owners secured permission to convert the building into a private home, sparking a backlash from villagers.

claimed to have been woken up at 2.30am by the fire near Smarden Bell Road, with others seeing fire engines driving towards the incident. Crews battled a fire in Smarden. Stock pic It is thought ...