More than 50 firefighters spent five hours battling a blaze, believed to be arson, which tore through a food factory today.

Two crews from Odsal and two from Bradford were initially called to Parkam Foods processing plant in Haycliffe Lane, Wibsey, Bradford, at 2.13am.

They were joined by six more crews from across West Yorkshire, including specialist appliances and aerial platform from Bradford, as the fire started to spread.

At its peak, flames could be seen pouring from the single-storey modern building and thick smoke billowed across the area. Part of its roof later caved in.

Odsal watch commander Peter Rushby said the crews braved “treacherous” road conditions to get to the major blaze after flames had spread from the back of the building.

A full investigation into the cause is expected to be carried out later on today. Police say it is believed to be arson.

Mr Rushby said: “There was a lot of smoke and flames when we arrived.

“The fire had spread from the yard into the building and there were still isolated pockets of fire at 7.30am today.

“We were hampered by the weather because there was at least two or three inches of snow on the ground, which hampered the appliances getting to the incident. It was very treacherous on the roads and, once we were there, we started using water, which was freezing.”

Mr Rusby said the firefighters’ managed to save all but a fifth of the factory, which produces packaged meat.