Eleven people were evacuated and one man taken to hospital after a blaze spread through a block of flats in Shipley earlier today.

An investigation has begun into the cause of the blaze, which tore through the ground floor flat in Alma Street.

Firefighters from Shipley, Idle and Bingley were called to the scene after thick smoke started spreading from the flat to others in the block just after midnight.

They went into the flat, which is owned by social landlords Incommunities, and rescued the tenant, a man in his 30s.

He was taken by ambulance to Bradford Royal Infirmary suffering from smoke inhalation.

The other evacuated tenants were treated by ambulance crews at the scene but did not need hospital treatment. They were suffering from breathing in smoke and from shock.

Map showing location of fire:

The heat of the blaze was so fierce that it completely destroyed the bedroom of the flat where it started and caused the window to give way.

Shipley watch commander Philip Brown said: "The fire really did get going. We had to evacuate the entire block of flats. When we got there, it was heavily smoke logged in the lobby and stairwell and the smoke had gone into other flats where doors had been left open."

They used high-pressure fans to clear the thick smoke.

Mr Brown said the blaze was not believed to be suspicious. It may have been caused by a lit candle but fire investigators have yet to determine an exact cause.