DETECTIVES are investigating a fire at a supermarket in Little Horton as arson.

Residents living above and next to the Madina Supermarket had to be evacuated at around 2am after the fire broke out.

Up to 20 people left their apartment homes alerted by the building's smoke alarms while 25 firefighters from four stations across the city and district tackled the blaze at Madina Supermarket in the former Bentley Buildings.

This morning the supermarket was shut although lights were on inside and windows were open.

According to some locals the shop has not been open for weeks.

No one from Madina Superstore was available to comment.

A strong smell of smoke was still lingering in the car park this afternoon.

Crews from Odsal, Fairweather Green, Shipley and Idle who attended used breathing apparatus to deal with multiple seats of fire discovered in the mini-market.

Odsal Crew Commander Spencer Priestley praised firefighters' teamwork. He said: "We got on top of it as soon as we could and managed to stop the fire from spreading to nearby apartments. We did a good job, it was excellent teamwork."

CID officers are now investigating how it started. A police spokesman said: "CID have been informed and are treating it as arson. We would ask anyone who saw anything suspicious in the Little Horton Lane area in the early hours to report it to police."

Residents were allowed back into their homes once fire crews had cleared smoke from the building.

Grzegorz Wijaikowski, who lives in one of the apartments at the side of the supermarket, said: "I was out at work when it happened but friends told me about it. I'm glad the alarms worked and everyone got out okay. My apartment is okay, I can only smell smoke when I go outside. I don't know when the supermarket will open again. I haven't seen anyone around."

Another man who Tweeted the Telegraph & Argus said: “The shop hasn’t been open for weeks.”

In January this year the store was awarded the lowest Food Hygiene Rating of 1 by Bradford Metropolitan District Council, requiring necessary major improvement.

The damage in the supermarket was mostly caused by smoke, said Crew Commander Priestley.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 and quote Log 81 of April 26.