POLICE are treating a fire at a former school building, the third blaze at the site in three months, as a suspected arson.

The Yorkshire Martyrs’ site in Tong has been hit by numerous fires in recent years, with the most recent taking place yesterday evening.

Police are now appealing for witnesses who may have seen anyone enter the site before the fire, as local councillors renew calls for the long empty building to be torn down.

Five fire appliances were sent out to tackle the blaze at the derelict and already badly damaged building, on Westgate Hill Street next to Tong High School, at around 8.30pm.

When they arrived, the firefighters, from Bradford, Cleckheaton, Odsal and Stanningley, as well as a specialist command unit from Featherstone, were greeted by a huge plume of black smoke rising from the two storey building. They were at the scene for four hours.

There were similar fires in the derelict school buildings on Thursday March 9, which started in the school’s gymnasium, and on Wednesday February 8.

There have also been major fires on the site in 2011 and 2015.

The former Roman Catholic school closed in 2010 after a re-structuring by the Leeds Catholic Diocese. The diocese was given permission to demolish the buildings in 2015, but before they were torn down, the site was sold to Liversedge based Apollo Beds Ltd.

After the March fire, Councillor Alan Wainright (Lab, Tong) vowed to have the building demolished, and today he said he was in talks with council officers about what could be done to speed up the process.

He said: “This is not good at all, the site needs sorting out as soon as possible.

“Not only could someone get seriously hurt in one of these fires, but it also puts pressure on emergency services. I’m sure fire fighters have better things to do than constantly being called to fires at a derelict school that should have been demolished years ago.

“I’ve spoke to the Director for Change at the council about the implications of serving notice to force demolition.”

A police spokesman said: “Police can confirm this is being treated as arson and enquiries are continuing in the area to identify possible suspects.

“Anyone who witnessed any suspicious activity in the Westgate Hill Street area at around 7pm on Tuesday is asked to contact Bradford District CID on 101, quoting crime reference 13170174825.

“Information can also be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”

The Telegraph & Argus tried to contact Apollo Beds for a comment, but was not able to get through to anyone at the company today.