FIRE crews from across the county were called to a major warehouse fire in Bradford last night.

More than 20 fire engines were called to the blaze in Chase Way, Eurocam Technology Park in West Bowling, near the end of the M606 at 10.07pm yesterday.

The building which was on fire belongs to Gordon Rhodes and Son Ltd, and is used for the storage of flour, seeds, herbs, and spices.

Senior director Ian Rhodes thanked the fire service for its work overnight.

Firefighters from Odsal, Bradford, Cleckheaton, Stanningley, Shipley, Keighley, Bingley, Fairweather Green, Rastrick, Halifax, Leeds, Moortown, Cookridge, Dewsbury, Killingbeck, Hunslet, Wakefield, Huddersfield and Ilkley attended the blaze.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

Mr Rhodes said: "We would like to thank the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service for its quick response and courageous help and support in this matter.

"The support from local businesses in the area has been fantastic and we are truly grateful. We would also like to thank our loyal customers for their kind words and would like to reassure them that we are striving to be back up and running as quick as possible.

"A business contingency plan is currently being put in place that will allow us to continue to trade and support our customer’s needs with the same level of service and quality that they have come to expect from Gordon Rhodes & Son.

"Thankfully there were no members of staff in the building at the time of the fire."

Odsal watch commander Phil Warden said the fire developed "quite rapidly".

He said: "When we arrived the fire had taken hold of the main warehouse.

"It developed quite rapidly because it was in a tin-cladded structure which hampered initial firefighting.

"The structure was unsafe so we had to evacuate from around the building, and police closed off the road for us.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

"Crews are still in attendance this morning dampening down, and once the structure is safe the fire investigation team can go in and start digging around."