FIREFIGHTERS battled a blaze at a derelict mill for two hours early today.

Crews from Rawdon, Idle and Cookridge attended the fire at the former Naylor Jennings textile mill in Green Lane, Yeadon, at 2.40am, but had difficulty getting to the building because of security measures to try and keep out intruders.

Crew Commander Ian Rawsthorne, of Rawdon station, said they could see flames coming out of the windows of the two-storey building when they arrived.

He said: "We put a jet of water through the windows to stop the fire spreading. We had to cut through metal gates to get into the yard, but it had been blocked up by a wall, so we had to use ladders to get over it and go through the windows to fight the fire. We also smashed a door to get inside."

Mr Rawsthorne said it was the fourth fire at the mill they had attended this year and in the past they had found youngsters smoking cannabis there.

He added: "It is a big abandoned mill that has been derelict for four or five years, but I think part of it may be listed, so it can't be pulled down. Local youths are getting in and setting fires."