A KEIGHLEY councillor has called for the shattered remains of a wrecked building in Lawkholme to be completely demolished after yet another fire at this location.

Fire crews tackled a blaze at the derelict snooker hall near the junction of Grange Street and Lawkholme Lane on Saturday night. (July 1)

The alarm was raised at 7.04pm, with engines from Keighley, Bingley, Illingworth and Shipley attending, along with supporting officers.

This building has been disused since it was hit by a major blaze in the early hours of New Year’s Eve 2013. What was left of the building was then destroyed by a second fire less than a week later.

Following repeated calls for the site to be cleaned up, a huge pile of wreckage and rubble was removed from within the walls of the gutted structure in 2015. But the shell of the building still remains.

Keighley Central Ward councillor Khadim Hussain said: "A lot of people have complained about it, and I can understand their concerns.

"It needs to be demolished and the site cleared in order to ensure there is minimum risk to residents.

"Myself and Cllr Abid Hussain have made several attempts to resolve the issue, and I understand that the council has spoken to the owner before."

He added the fact that the site has suffered another blaze makes it even more important that the building is not left neglected any longer.

"It's a dangerous situation and a tragedy waiting to happen," he said.

Cllr Abid Hussain, who is also this year's Bradford Lord Mayor, said: "I'd urge the owner to either maintain this property and make sure it's safe or to get rid of it so something else can be built there.

"Both the police and fire services are doing a wonderful job, but we need some more contribution from the owner."

According to West Yorkshire Fire Service, last Saturday's blaze was on the first and ground floor of the building.

A spokesman said the area affected measured 30 metres by 15 metres, with half of it ablaze.

He added: "Four breathing apparatus and three hose reels were used by firefighters to tackle the blaze, with positive pressure ventilation fans clearing the smoke.

"It is not clear at this stage what the cause of the fire was."

Cllr Zafar Ali, also of Keighley Central Ward, said the eyesore was attracting vandals, drug takers and other forms of antisocial behaviour.

He said if the latest fire was started deliberately, whoever was responsible should consider that they had put people's lives at risk.

"This is in a densely populated residential areas, with many homes nearby," he said.

"The person who owns the building needs to make it more secure. And if they can't manage that then the council should intervene."