Fire crews tackle overnight high-rise tower blaze

Firefighters have tackled a large fire at a high-rise building in Bradford overnight.

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue said they responded to the blaze at an eight-storey apartment block on Bolton Road at about 20:30 BST.

Ten fire engines and two aerial appliances were sent to the scene initially, but this was reduced to six engines at about 04:00 BST.

The building was unoccupied and there are no reports of any injuries, the service said.

Jack Roberts, manager of Napoleon's Casino, which is next door to the building, said: "I was sent a message at 20:50 and it was still going when I got in this morning.

"The flames were still quite high but I think it is calming down now and the roads are starting to be reopened.

"It's not really what you expect when you come into work.

"You could still smell the smoke in the casino this morning."

Mr Roberts said the casino was not affected by the fire, other than it being "slightly quieter than usual".

A spokesperson for the fire service said residents in the area had been advised to keep their windows shut due to smoke.

"Please avoid the area where possible to allow emergency services to deal with the incident," they added.

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