Mystery blaze rips through disused Catholic school

Over 100 firefighters tackled the blaze at the disused Yorkshire Martyrs School in Westgate Hill Street.

The alarm was raised just after 2am yesterday.

The school closed last year under a reorganisation of Roman Catholic schools.

The fire forced the closure of nearby Tong School, which shares the site. Tong School will reopen today.

A spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Leeds said: “Our sympathy goes out, at this time, to all those who studied and/or worked in this college over its lifetime.

“If it is proved that this was a deliberate act, then we hope that the people responsible are brought to justice and given time to contemplate their irresponsible, selfish and costly acts.

“It is only this July that the last students left the college and preparations were being made to offer the buildings on the open market for sale.

“We would like to thank the emergency services and all those involved in putting out the fire.In the meantime the Diocese will work to safeguard the property and work with all local authorities to see that positive results can arise from this situation.”