A top store at Pudsey was closed for business yesterday after stock was badly damaged in a fire.

A blaze broke out in the food hall at Marks & Spencer in the Owlcotes Centre shortly after 5am. It was discovered by a member of the store’s night staff, who raised the alarm.

Firefighters from Bradford and Stanningley were quickly on the scene and put out the flames, but serious smoke damage was caused to the premises.

A Marks & Spencer spokesman said yesterday: “Emergency services responded very quickly and were soon in attendance and able to extinguish the fire in quick time. They did a fantastic job.

“The fire happened before the store opened. Nobody was hurt and all employees are safe. Some staff were working and they raised the alarm.

“The store will remain closed for the rest of the day. We are assessing the damage and are working flat out to try to get everything sorted. But it is too early to say when the store will reopen.”

The spokesman said the company was working closely with the fire service to determine what triggered the blaze, but there was nothing to suggest it was suspicious.

Crew commander Richard Potter, of Stanningley fire station, said a small fire had broken out in one of the aisles in the food hall.

He said: “The alarm was raised by a member of staff who activated the fire alarm. The sprinkler system also activated. There were some staff in the building but they all got out safely, and had been evacuated before we arrived.

“When we got there the food hall area was heavily smoke-logged and smoke was drifting towards the rest of the store. Four crew wearing breathing apparatus went inside and extinguished the fire. It was under control within about five minutes.

“The fire damage was limited to a small display on the food aisle but there was smoke and water damage throughout the food hall.”

Crew commander Potter said the cause of the fire was being investigated but it was not believed to be suspicious, and was possibly caused by an electrical fault.