Firefighters had to smash a window and cut through metal shutters to get to a fire in the basement of an empty shop in Bradford today.

Crews were called to the disused premises on Westgate, close to its junction with Lumb Lane, at 8.50am.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Fire Service said the blaze was caused by an electrical fault.

“We had to smash a window to get in, and then cut through the roller shutters that were just behind the glass,” he said.

He added that there was fire damage in the basement and on the shop’s ground floor, and that the Club Life nightclub, which is above the premises, suffered light smoke damage.

An ambulance attended the scene because initial reports suggested someone might have been in the premises, which turned out not to be the case.

Staff in Rita’s Cafe, which is next door-but-one to the affected shop, said they had to evacuate six customers as a result of the incident.

One employee, who did not want to be named, said: “All our lights were flashing, and then all the power went off. The customers we had in had to be evacuated.”

Police closed the section of Westgate between Lumb Lane and Drewton Road for a short time during the incident.