FIREFIGHTERS said a house fire they attended this evening may have been started deliberately.

Crews from Odsal and Cleckheaton were called out to Bolingbroke Street, in BD5, at 7.45pm with reports of people in the terraced property.

Watch commander Mick Kilburn said: "We treated the callout as persons inside.

"We broke the door down to get to the kitchen which was well alight and then used four breathing apparatus to search the property for occupants. Fortunately it empty.

"The call was made to us from a neighbour who had seen the fire.

"We left the scene at around 9.30pm and put it into the hands of the police because we suspected arson.

"We will be going back tomorrow morning to 'hot strike' which is knocking on doors in the locality to check people have working smoke alarms and if not we can fit them for free. There was no working smoke alarm at this premises."