This was the scene which met canvassers door-knocking in Shipley – a blaze which came dangerously close to a carpet business.

Valley Road was engulfed in black, acrid smoke after a suspected arsonist set fire to a skip full of old carpets next to a business.

The blaze was spotted by Andy Rowley, a Conservative candidate for Shipley in the forthcoming Bradford Council local elections, who was canvassing voters with his wife Carol.

Firefighters were scrambled to the scene of the blaze, which is understood to have been started deliberately, shortly after 8pm on Monday.

Mrs Rowley said: “We had just got back and noticed some idiot had set fire to a skip-load of old carpets just off Valley Road.

“The carpet firm Carpets Direct narrowly avoided having their business burned down.”

Mr Rowley called 999 and firefighters from Shipley fire station arrived minutes later to find flames and smoke coming from the skip.

Mrs Rowley said: “We dashed down and were relieved to see it was a skip on fire. But the fire began to get a grip and at one point the garage next to the Carpet firm very nearly went up.

“There were some very large bangs and the area was engulfed in thick, black acrid smoke. Then, when the firemen came to the area to douse the flames, the whole of Valley Road was engulfed in a white smoke.”

She added: “I could see the flames were already beginning to catch hold of the shed next to it. Whoever set that on fire is an absolute idiot. It could have been far worse it was disgraceful.”

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Fire Service confirmed firefighters had attended the scene and used hose jets to put out the fire at about 8.20pm.

It is being treated as “suspicious”, the spokesman said.

An employee at the Carpets Direct shop did not wish to comment when contacted by the Telegraph & Argus.

* The other candidates in the Shipley ward are Hawarun Hussain (Green), Philip Bird (UKIP) and Russell Halliday (Lib Dem).