Asbestos has been discovered at a fire which has broken out in a hospital building in Heaton, Bradford.

Firefighters were called out to Daisy Bank, a building near Bradford Royal Infirmary in Duckworth Lane, at 7.15am today.

A fire had broken out in a basement, and on arrival crews from Fairweather Green and Bradford called for back-up from colleagues from Bingley, Idle and Cleckheaton stations.

A fire service spokesman said: “This is a two-storey stone building with a fire in the basement. Crews are using four breathing apparatus and two hose reels to deal with the incident.”

He said they had also discovered white asbestos at the scene, so a specialist decontamination fire crew from Dewsbury had also been called out.

The fire service had said the building was part of Bradford District Care Trust, but a trust spokesman said ownership had been transferred to Bradford Teaching Hospitals in November.