Police were called to Barkerend to help disperse a crowd containing children as young as five who were getting dangerously close to a fire.

Firefighters from Bradford and Idle were called to a blaze that had engulfed a row of garages in an alleyway on Fitzroy Road at 7.40pm on Saturday. As they attempted to put out the fire, in the middle of a residential area, up to 60 people gathered round to watch.

Despite pleas to leave the hazardous scene, the crowd remained until the police were called. The fire, which is believed to have been started deliberately, started in one garage but due to dry conditions it soon spread to another four.

Firefighters had no idea what was in the garages, and there was also a danger the fire could spread to a nearby electricity sub station. Watch Commander Steve Haley said: “Because of the weather there were quite a lot of kids out – at one point there are about 60 people stood around the scene. A fire might look exciting, but people have to stay away for their own benefit. We are not just out to spoil their entertainment.

“In the end we had to call the police for crowd control purposes. We were dealing with a fire, we don’t want to worry about kids. We didn’t know what was in the garages, there could have been gas canisters or something just as dangerous.

“I would ask everyone to respect the emergency services’ advice and move away when they ask you. There were people walking past just a few feet away. We need clear access to the fire and the engines.”

The garages did not contain any cars at the time of the fire and were being used to store wood and plastics.

Mr Haley said they suspect the fire was started deliberately and police are investigating.