An 11-year-old boy was in a serious condition in hospital last night after falling through the roof of a derelict mill in Keighley .

Residents spoke of their concerns over the dangers of the former mill, in Wirefield Road, Ingrow , after the boy was seriously injured when he fell through its roof at about 3.40pm.

Firefighters and paramedics raced to the scene before the boy was taken to Airedale Hospital for treatment.

Mother-of-two Abi Smith, 24, a resident on Wirefield Road, said she was inside when she heard sirens.

She said: “What seems to have happened is he’s been playing on the roof and one of the lads was telling the police that he had jumped once and it made a bit of a hole and one of his friends told him not to do it again.

“He jumped in again and he’s gone straight through.There’s kids down there all the time – they all go down later on at night.

“The building wants to be fenced off or knocked down, especially for the sake of our children because I would say there aren’t many kids who are over the age of ten around here.”

Mother-of-two Claire Murgatroyd, 30, who also lives in Wirefield Road, said drugs had also been found at the site.

She said: “I’ve rung the police loads of times about finding drugs down there – we are always telling the children not to go down there.”

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said the boy was in a serious condition after falling from the roof of the mill.

The spokesman said his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

Andy Newman, of Keighley Fire Station, said: “We’d like to emphasise that playing on the roof of any building, whether derelict or new, is very dangerous.

“There is the danger of slipping off or falling through the roof.”