A community has been left "upset and baffled" after a Guide hut was gutted in an attack by arsonists.

The hut in Guiseley, which has had thousands of pounds spent on it in recent years, cannot now be used for events which had been planned in the run-up to Christmas.

Guide leader Christine King said the hut was set on fire in the early hours of Monday. A milkman on his rounds called the fire brigade.

She said: "We have lost everything. What they did was empty all our cupboards and set it on fire, and it is gutted."

She said everything in the cupboards, including craft equipment, uniforms, and photographs going back decades had been destroyed.

The front of the building looked undamaged but the inside was totally unusable and the roof unstable, she said. The hut was used by Guides, Brownies and Rainbows, and also community groups including mums and tots, the WI and British Legion.

"The WI were supposed to be having a Christmas party there, but now they are not having a party," she said. "I am a Rainbow leader and I was meant to be having my last meeting before Christmas on Thursday. I also run a mums and tots group - we were supposed to be in there this afternoon having a party. Luckily, Guiseley theatre came up trumps."

She said a series of improvements, including a new floor, kitchen, boiler and curtains had been carried out over the last two years, and they were in the process of saving £4,000 for a new roof.

"I have been a Guide leader for 16 to 17 years and we have never had a break-in," she said. "It has come as a complete shock.

"It is amazing how many people have got in touch about it. Yesterday, my phone never stopped ringing when people found out. Everybody is upset and baffled - we can't understand it."

e-mail: newsdesk@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

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