Tearaways as young as eight are suspected of starting a fire which gutted the terraced home of a pensioner.

Police and fire service experts are investigating the blaze which ripped through the roof of the house in Kensington Street, Keighley.

Luckily recluse Donald Slack, in his 70s, was not home at the time but people next door had to be evacuated on Sunday afternoon.

Neighbours claim he has been subjected to a reign of terror by youngsters who have attacked and smashed up his home over the last few months.

The blaze left the house a burnt out shell and Mr Slack has been offered temporary accommodation by Bradford Council.

Keighley Station officer Mick Robinson said they suspected youngsters of starting the blaze and believed there was more than one seat of fire.

He said: "We are treating the fire as arson. We understand he has had problems with youngsters who have kicked in his door and smashed windows."

Neighbour and mother-of-two 26-year-old Karen Sharp said her life had been made hell by the youngsters who constantly attacked Mr Slack's home.

"The day before the fire the kids had smashed all his windows at the back and kicked in his door. The morning of the fire he had spent boarding up the windows and doors," she said.

"Kids of about eight and nine have been bothering his home for months. They kept kicking his door in. He would board it up and they would kick it in again. He didn't seem to do anything about it.

"We reported the matter to the police but when they came up the children disappeared."

She and her 31-year-old partner, Ian Robertson, and their two children Joshua, four, and 14-month-old Brandon, were evacuated from their home which suffered smoke and water damaged.

She was asleep downstairs when the fire broke out and was awoken by Mr Robertson who had heard a bang and saw smoke seeping through the floorboards in their upstairs room. When he looked outside, flames were pouring from the window next door.

Station Officer Robinson said when the crew arrived they believed Mr Slack was inside but later learned he had left the house. The house, which was stashed with newspapers, was blazing fiercely and flames eventually burst through the roof. The smoke was so thick firefighters had to use breathing apparatus outside to tackle the blaze, he said.

The staircase also collapsed but fire fighters managed to prevent the flames spreading to the two properties on either side.

A spokesman for Bradford Council said Mr Slack had been offered temporary accommodation and they were ensuring that the property was made safe.

A Keighley police spokesman said: "We are inquiring into the circumstances of the fire which appears at this time to be suspicious."

Officers are appealing for anyone who saw people behaving suspiciously in the area on Sunday afternoon to contact police on (01535) 617085.

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