Blaze destroys £100,000 fleet of classic Land Rovers

Fire crews were called out at 5am on Monday to the Land Rover Centre in Huddersfield, considered the top supplier of restored Land Rovers in the country.

After breaking through the entrance gates the two crews found the fire in the covered parking area containing the vehicles.

The structure’s fibreglass roof melted and dripped onto the iconic cars underneath, igniting them and destroying the interiors.

In some instances the heat was so intense it melted some sections of the cars’ aluminium bodywork.

Four of the six vehicles on site, dating from 1968 and 1979 and worth around £20,000 each, were completely destroyed along with the parking area.

Company founder Peter Garside said: “The Land Rovers damaged were either Series 2 or 2a classic Land Rovers, and there was one Series 3.

“The Fire Service and the police have both had a look and they don’t know how it started, the sheets on the roof went up and something set them on fire.

“The fire has destroyed a lot of hard work. It takes about three weeks to build each one up from the chassis and we can’t just go out and replace the parts.

“We have to look far and wide for them.”