Halifax homes evacuated during mill fire

More than 200 firefighters have tackled a major fire which destroyed warehouses in an old mill complex in Halifax.

Residents in Miall Street off Pellon Lane were forced to leave their homes after the fire broke out in a furniture warehouse on Saturday afternoon.

One building collapsed and another has been left dangerously damaged, West Yorkshire Fire Service said.

Fire and police investigators remained at the scene on Monday trying to determine the cause of the fire.

Asst Chief Fire Officer Craig McIntosh said: "We've got the fire now confined to a basement area where we are working within the building to extinguish it.

"We'll be at the scene making sure it is fully extinguished and the risk of spread to other buildings is fully eradicated for some days yet.

"As soon as we can declare the buildings safe we can get residents back into their houses."

He said fire investigation officers would be working with police to determine the cause of the fire.

Local resident Shahzad Khalid said: "We could see the building on fire, completely engulfed in flames and after a short while the whole thing just collapsed.

"Everybody's quite shocked, the whole street, they've never seen anything like this.

"The street's been evacuated so it's caused major disruption. They're staying at the leisure centre."