An explosion which destroyed the front of a Bradford newsagent’s shop during a fire is believed to have taken place after the shop was ram-raided.

Police said the fire took hold at Wyke News, in Huddersfield Road, Wyke, after a 4x4 Mitsubishi Shogun was believed to have been rammed against the entrance.

The car was then driven off as the fire took hold and was later abandoned in Hallbank Drive, close to Rooley Lane, Bradford, where four men are believed to have got out.

Nothing was stolen from the shop and police inquiries are ongoing to trace those responsible.

Firefighters were called to the fire, which was being treated as suspicious, at about 12.10am yesterday.

Crew commander Dave Cookson, of Odsal fire station, said the explosion, which caused the front door and windows to be blown into the street, may have been caused by a backdraft in the shop.

Firefighters were able to use fans to get rid of enough smoke in the stand-alone single-storey building to see nobody was trapped inside.

He said: “The person who reported it said they heard a bang and by the time it took us to get there, which was about two minutes, it was well developed. The fire investigation unit and police were called to investigate the cause.

“The reason why the shop front had been blown out, we suspect, was down to a backdraft created in the shop, so that would explain why everything in the shop was so severely burnt in such a short space of time.”

Lynn Baker, 64, of Huddersfield Road, Wyke, contacted the fire brigade after she heard a loud bang while in bed shortly after midnight.

She said: “I thought it had been an accident, two cars crashing, and I looked out of the window and there was a dark-coloured car parked in front of the shop.

“I thought they had rammed it to get in, so I thought that must have been the bang, and then the fire started and the car shot off.

“Then I heard another bang and that was it – it just really took off then.”

A police spokesman said: “Police are working with fire investigators to establish the cause of the blaze.”

Witnesses have been asked to contactpolice on 0845 6060606 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.