Tavern gutted in early morning blaze

A pub has been burnt to the ground in a blaze this morning.

Emergency services are continuing to dampen down the fire at the Albion Tavern in Shannon, between Levin and Palmerston North.

Fire officers were called to the two-storey, wooden building just before 5am and arrived to find it well involved in the upper levels, said a fire communications spokesman.

No one was inside the building at the time.

Police and fire services are investigating the cause.