Magnifying glass blamed for flats blaze

Two fire engines were called to Hollis Court, on Castle Howard Road, Malton, following reports of a fire just after 11am on Saturday.

Fire crews using breathing equipment managed to extinguish a blaze in the bedroom of a first floor apartment. They also used a ventilation machine to help get rid of the smoke.

No one was in the flat at the time of the fire and crews managed to safely evacuated the other properties in the building.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue believes the fire was caused by sunlight refracting through a magnifying glass which shone onto a photo album and burst into flames, setting parts of the room alight.

Only a small area of the room was damaged by the fire, however the whole apartment suffered smoke damage.