CREWS spent all night fighting a fire at the old HMRC building in Shipley - and an investigation is set to be launched today (Sunday).

Appliances from 10 fire stations across Bradford and further afield, along with specialist units, were all called to the fire at the now derelict building on the Riverside Estate in Shipley.

The fire service received their initial call at 5.05pm yesterday and a spokesperson for Shipley Fire Station said that the fire was not confirmed fully out until 7am this morning.

"We spent all night there," he said. "It's a large complex and the fire was on the second floor."

He said an aerial unit was called to the scene because of bollards designed to keep vehicles out of the property.

"We had to cut holes in the fence to gain access. It was a nightmare job."

He said at the stage the cause of the fire is unknown, but he added that a fire investigation officer will be attending the scene this morning.

In footage on social media last night, dark smoke was seen coming from a window of the building.

The fire advised local residents to keep their doors and windows closed and people were also told to stay away from the scene to allow emergency services deal with the incident.

Crews from Shipley, Bingley, Bradford, Keighley, Odsal, Fairweather Green, Stanningley, Leeds, Moortown and Normanton fire stations were all in attendance along specialist teams including a technical rescue unit, aerial appliance, command unit and light command unit support.

The building is on Salts Mill Road, between Shipley and the Saltaire World Heritage Site.

In November 2015, the Government announced the Shipley office of HMRC would close, with staff moved to Leeds.

Despite campaigns to keep the organisation – one of Shipley’s biggest employers – in the town, the office was shut and put on the market.

In October last year, detailed plans to build a 290-home development on the site, complete with shops and a riverside park, were officially revealed.

The full application outlined a proposal to create 289 residential dwellings, including some buildings with “flexible ground floor commercial uses” that the plans said could be cafes or convenience stores.