Police are investigating a suspected arson at a pub that was closed for selling alcohol to children.

Firefighters were called to The Angel in Angel Hill, Sutton, at 12.50am on Saturday after neighbours reported the blaze.

Six fire engines took an hour to get the fire under control.

No-one was injured, but the three-storey building suffered 50 per cent damage to the ground floor and 30 per cent damage to the second floor.

Police are treating the fire as suspicious and London Fire Brigade investigators are looking in to its cause.

A Sutton fire service spokesman said debris in the disused pub made tackling the fire more difficult, and the building had suffered structural damage.

The building has now been made safe to the public.

Two fire notices were served on the pub in the past 12 months over fire safety issues at the venue.

The compliance date for the latest notice was Monday, two days after the fire.

The pub had been empty since January after being ordered to close after reports of violence, criminal damage and a number of noise complaints from neighbours.

It also sold booze to underage and undercover police cadets in a sting operation.

It is understood the building's owners were planning to sell it off for redevelopment.