Derelict Bradford school an arson hotspot - fire chiefs

The Yorkshire Martyrs School site in Bradford has been abandoned for 12 years

A derelict school in Bradford has become an arson "hotspot", a fire authority has been told.

Yorkshire Martyrs School, off Westgate Hill Street, closed in 2010 and has remained vacant since then.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews were regularly called to the site and would like the building to be demolished.

It said the calls put additional pressure on stations in Bradford as all incidents had to be investigated.

Dave Walton, director of service delivery for the fire service, was asked by fire authority members what the service was doing to prevent arson attacks on derelict buildings in the county.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said: "With many of these incidents we'll speak to the owner and give them advice on how to prevent incidents from happening again."

Mr Walton said the Yorkshire Martyrs building had a "significant number of reported incidents".

"We've worked in partnership with authorities and the landowner to ultimately get the site demolished.

"It can't be fully secured against arson and has become an arson hotspot.

"We're working to push for the demolition of the building."

The fire authority heard the site owner, Batley-based Apollo Beds, had expressed a wish to develop the site for housing.