FIRE crews were called to a famous castle where the caretaker's equipment was "maliciously ignited".

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (WYFRS) was initially called to Cliffe Castle, a heritage building from the 19th century in Keighley, at 4.15am this morning.

Firefighters from Keighley, Bingley and Shipley Fire Stations rushed to the scene, but when they got there realised it was not the actual castle or main building that was alight. 

The blaze related to the caretaker's area and the crews found "gardener's or caretaker's" equipment on fire.

A spokesperson for WYFRS said the equipment had been set on fire deliberately and was a case of "malicious ignition".

The crew from Bingley Fire Station remained at the scene to tackle the blaze, while firefighters from both Keighley and Shipley left.

Cliffe Castle features a museum, a café and an accompanying park which has marble fountains, a pond, ornamental Victorian rockwork, glasshouses, terraces and a very popular children's play area.

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