INVESTIGATORS probing the cause of a blaze at a Bradford city centre nightclub are not ruling out arson, it was revealed last night.

The roof of Warehouse, in Sackville Street, was destroyed when it caught fire in the early hours of Wednesday, August 26.

Firefighters managed to save most of the building and stop flames spreading to neighbouring properties. Demolition crews have since made the three-storey building safe.

"The cause of the fire is still under investigation and we have not ruled out that it may have been started deliberately," a spokesman for West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said.

The venue is set to open again in two weeks, alongside a newly-refurbished, real ale venue at Tavern in the Town on adjacent Barry Street.

Warehouse, Tavern in the Town and Campbell's Sports Bar, also in Barry Street, which back onto each other, will be interlinked, spokesman said.

One of its first events will be a fundraiser to thank firefighters who battled the blaze.

"The fire service have done a marvellous job. About 700,000 litres of water went in there and it is now dry," said a Warehouse spokesman.

"When we re-open we are going to do a charity do for the fire service because of what they have done. They have saved thousands of pounds worth of damage.

"They have been brilliant with us. Fairweather Green, Odsal and Bradford were brilliant. They lent us equipment like dehumidifiers for days afterwards to help us out."

The spokesman said a new roof would be put on soon.

Campbell's Sports Bar was re-opened in time for the bank holiday weekend, despite some water damage.

Sackville Street has remained closed, between Sunbridge Road and Westgate, as demolition crews have worked and will remain shut until repair work is completed.

"The gable end is safe. But the road will stay closed for now because it is better to be safe than sorry. They want to keep traffic to a minimum - it is a safety aspect," the Warehouse spokesman said.

Bradford station manager Dave Cookson, who was incident commander, said: "The whole of the roof was involved in the fire, which was well developed when crews arrived. The roof has been extensively damaged but fire crews have managed to stop the spread of the fire to adjacent properties and no-one has been injured as a result of the fire."

The partial demolition work was carried out by Bradford firm Thomas Crompton, which removed the remainder of the damaged roof and the top half of two gable ends.ich

Managing director Thomas Crompton said: "We have done all the emergency work and taken away all the immediate danger.

"We got it all open on the other side in time for the bank holiday weekend and worked over to get that achieved."