Roads were closed as firefighters battled a blaze at the site of a former restaurant and pub near Leeds.

Crews from North and West Yorkshire rushed to the scene on Old Great North Road in Brotherton, Knottingley at around 10.15pm on Monday (September 21) night and residents were urged to avoid the area.

Fire crews remained overnight trying to get the fire under control. Both the A162 and Old Great North Road were shut as emergency services dealt with the incident.

The blaze happened at an empty building which had formerly been the site of the Thaal Indian Restaurant, which shut in February of this year according to the BBC. It had previously been a pub prior to being turned into a restaurant.

In an initial post on its incident page, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: “Multiple crews from West Yorkshire, including Selby, Tadcaster, York, alongside Acomb’s aerial ladder platform appliance and Tadcaster’s Water Bowser were alerted to a fire inside a derelict building measuring 25 x 20 metres.

“Crews are still in attendance and have made good progress to extinguish the fire. However, the incident is still ongoing and is expected to be scaled back shortly but whilst it remains ongoing please be advised to avoid the area and keep windows shut.”

A further update just after 3am today (September 22) added: “Good progress is being made to extinguish the fire. Further advice from the incident ground is for local residents and road users to avoid the A162 and Great North Road which are closed whilst this incident is ongoing.”

Google’s traffic map is showing heavy traffic in and around the Old Great North Road in Brotherton on Tuesday morning.