Leeds: Eldon Court student block evacuated over fire risks

Hundreds of university students have been evacuated from their accommodation after firefighters said the building posed "serious" fire risks.

Up to 300 students living at Eldon Court on Woodhouse Lane in Leeds were asked to leave on Tuesday evening.

West Yorkshire Fire Service issued a prohibition notice for the privately-owned accommodation on Wednesday, following an inspection.

The company that manages the building has been approached for a comment.

All of the students who were evacuated were offered emergency accommodation by their university, a fire service spokesperson said.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Dave Walton said: "The decision to take this action has not been taken lightly, especially given the resultant upheaval it has caused for many people.

"We had no choice but to act in this way after our investigations highlighted serious concerns and risk to life.

"The risks were so serious that it would have been dangerous to allow people to continue to stay in the building once these were identified."

Firefighters were called in after a survey of the building revealed several potential risks.

One student told BBC Radio Leeds they received a letter through their door at about 21:30 GMT on Tuesday telling them they needed to leave the building.

The student, who asked not to be named, said their university had found them emergency housing but that it was "far away", adding: "I'm a final-year student and this is added stress.

"We have to find somewhere else but finding accommodation now, at the end of January, there's nowhere that's going to accommodate us."

Another student said they did not know whether they should move all their belongings out because they had "no information about when this problem will be solved".

The prohibition notice requires the people responsible for the building to take action to remove the fire risks.

West Yorkshire Fire Service said "this latest situation" coincided with new fire safety reforms, which came into effect this week, which implement recommendations made by the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster.

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