A MILE-long stretch of road had to be cordoned off after an explosion “destroyed” outbuildings at Northcliffe Golf Club in Shipley early today.

The explosion was caused by a fire, which police have confirmed is being treated as arson.

Police blocked off the entry to Long Lane from Bingley Road, and the road, which becomes Shay Lane near to where the fire took place, and also had a cordon in place in Shay Lane near to the entrance to Bradford Salem RUFC until 3pm.

Entry to the nearby Express Golf Centre in Long Lane was also blocked off due to the cordon.

The fire was at a greenkeeping store hut, and greenkeeper Matthew Goodall said the hut and all of its contents had been destroyed.

He said: “Everything was in there, all the equipment like mowers, diggers and sprinkler systems.

“Absolutely everything has been destroyed, the entire building is gone.

“Oxygen tanks have blown up, and fire were staying at the scene because we have acetylene tanks which could explode at any time. If they go off they will destroy whatever is left.”

Mr Goodall said the oxygen and acetylene were used by the greenkeeping staff for welding.

A police spokesman said officers were called to the golf club at 3am.

He said: “Police were called to reports of a security alarm being activated at Northcliffe Golf Club, shortly after 3am today. Officers attended and found a shed on fire and notified the fire service.

“Due to a number of gas canisters being stored in the shed, a cordon was put in place for public safety which included putting a number of road closures in place, including on Bingley Road, Long Lane and Shay Lane.

“Investigations are ongoing in conjunction with the fire service and a crime of arson has been recorded.”

Fire crews from Shipley, Fairweather Green, and Bradford attended the blaze. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed its investigations team is looking into the fire Crews stayed at the scene until around 2pm.

Residents near the police cordon said they heard a “really loud explosion”.

One said: “I was asleep and blue flashing lights outside woke me up at 4am.

“About ten minutes later there was a really loud bang which made me jump out of bed.

“We couldn’t see the fire from our house.”

Another resident said: “It was a really loud explosion, it woke me up.

“I came downstairs to see what is was and saw a police car outside. If they hadn’t been there I would have been a lot more worried about it.”

Northcliffe Golf Club declined to make further comment on the incident.