Pub owners ‘devastated’ after overnight fire in Harrogate district

A country pub near Boroughbridge is closed indefinitely after fire broke out in the early hours of this morning.

Firefighters from Ripon, Thirsk, Knaresborough and Harrogate were summoned to the Ship Inn at Aldborough after a fire alarm went off in the kitchen at about 2am.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue’s incident log said:

“Crews discovered a fire in the kitchen believed to have originated from a tumble dryer.”

“Crews used 2 hose reel jets, one covering jet, four breathing apparatus, thermal imaging cameras, one short extension ladder, positive pressure ventilation (fan) and lighting to extinguish the fire and assist them with the incident.”

The Stray Ferret called the pub this morning and a woman, who did not leave her name, said:

“It was an electrical fire. At the moment we are closed and need to assess the damage.

“It’s absolutely devastating — after everything that’s happened with covid and now this.”

The pub, run by Brian and Elaine Rey, made headlines in 2011 when Princes William and Harry were among a group of 16 that visited for a friend’s wedding. Kate Middleton was also present.

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Summerbridge woman gets trapped in loft

A woman in Summerbridge needed rescuing from her loft when the hatch closed and she was unable to get out.

A postman was alerted to the danger when he heard the woman shouting for help shortly after 11am yesterday.

Firefighters from the nearby Summerbridge station rushed to the house and managed to get in through a window using a triple extension ladder.

They were then able to rescue the woman, who has not been named, from the loft.

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Coneythorpe pub rises from ashes to reopen after 11 months

A family-run pub in Coneythorpe is to reopen its doors, 11 months after a devastating fire.

Fire crews from Harrogate, Knaresborough and Acomb spent six hours battling the blaze at the Tiger Inn in November.

When the pub reopens on Monday, October 25, owners Ian and Barbara Gill will donate £5,000 to the Firefighter’s Charity as a thank-you.

Firefighters tackle the blaze at the Tiger Inn, Coneythorpe, back in November.

Firefighters tackling the blaze at the Tiger Inn in November.

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The Gills have run the Tiger Inn, near Knaresborough, for 15 years. Mr Gill said:

“As you can imagine, the last 18 months have been extremely challenging.

“We were already struggling with the serious effects of covid last year, when the huge fire struck. As a result we have been closed ever since.

“However, we have been so heartened and encouraged by the support we have received from all our regulars.

“They have given us the strength to carry on and to ensure that The Tiger will re-open in style.”

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said at the time of the blaze that fire broke out in the pub’s kitchen and the cause was believed to be accidental.

Neighbours said they were devastated and described the pub as a pillar of the community.

Charity donations set on fire behind Knaresborough shop

Stolen clothes that were left as donations to a charity shop have been set on fire behind a shop on Knaresborough high street.

The ashes from the fire were discovered at the back of The Clothing Store of Knaresborough on Saturday morning.

Shop owner Rebecca Lombardi later learned the clothing was taken from outside St Vincent’s charity shop, over the road on the high street.

It happened just weeks after Blind Jack’s pub, on Market Place, was damaged in an overnight fire.

Ms Lombardi posted about the incident on social media to warn other businesses and attempt to gather more information.

She said:

“It could have been really dangerous, it was close to the bins and if it had got out of control I would worry for the two flats upstairs.

“I was shocked initially but then I started thinking about Blind Jack’s a couple of weeks ago and lots of thoughts were rushing round my head.

“Hopefully it was just a one-off.”

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Ms Lombardi said police initially told her it was a civil matter because there wasn’t a witness but Knaresborough resident Philip Allott, who is North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner said he had escalated the investigation within North Yorkshire Police.

Mrs Lombardi said the police subsequently requested CCTV footage of the entrance to the back area.

She said she felt better after putting details of the incident social media because she knows other businesses are now aware.

North Yorkshire Police has not responded to requests for further information.

Youths set fire to roof in Harrogate

Two fire crews were called to Ainsty Road in Harrogate last night following reports that youths had set fire to the roof of a building.

When firefighters arrived just after 6pm, they found two chairs on fire in the car park as well as the roof fire, which had already gone out.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said in its incident log:

“Crews extinguished the fire and passed the details of the incident onto the police.”

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Later on last night, Harrogate firefighters responded to reports of a young person on a roof believed to be under the influence of alcohol.

The incident, on Forest Lane, happened around 12.30am this morning.

The young man was already down from the roof and with police when the firefighters arrived.

Temporary Bilsdale transmitter replacement ‘could take months’

Harrogate district residents may have to wait another two months for their TV signal to return, it emerged yesterday.

It was initially thought that an 80m temporary transmitter, being built to replace the Bilsdale transmitter damaged by fire on August 10, would take just three weeks to complete.

But a meeting of the North York Moors National Park Authority heard its construction was some way from starting and would take a month alone.

The need to follow international regulations to protect the sensitive moorland around the mast has also caused delays.

Members were told many people living in the north-east, including North Yorkshire, still had no signal and that escalating frustrations over that had been exacerbated in the Bilsdale area by the lack of a mobile phone signal as a result of the fire.

The authority pledged to do everything in its power to accelerate the erection of the temporary mast, including delegating any necessary decision-making powers to the most senior officers to bypass committee meetings.

However, the meeting heard Arqiva had been concentrating its efforts with the landowners, Mexborough Estate, to overcome access issues and had not contacted the national park authority until several weeks after the fire.

Exclusion zone

Chris France, the authority’s director of planning, said that as far as he was aware the 309-metre guyed mast structure, which was constructed in 1969, appeared to be beyond repair with “a huge bulge in it”, leaving it so insecure a 400-metre exclusion zone had been created around it.

Arqiva is targeting using a disused quarry on the moor to the south of the exclusion zone for an emergency mast because that would have least impact on the biodiversity.

Mr France said that emergency national planning regulations allowed replacement masts as long as they were movable without the need to go through the planning process.

Arqiva has proposed to put it on sleds, weighed down by large blocks of concrete flown there by helicopters. The structure would then be secured by guys attached to the surrounding heather moorland.

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The site has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and classified as a European Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation since the mast was built so Arqiva consultants have asked whether it is necessary to screen the development for environmental and habitat impacts.

Mr France said if screening processes were deemed necessary the timescale for any consultation may take a further month.

A temporary mast would not be permanently tied down and may not last in winter conditions. Arqiuva has indicated after three months “another replacement replacement mast” may be required which it said would be subject to full planning permission.

‘Taking longer than we anticipated’

The meeting heard a second complication was that the mast had mobile phone equipment on it and people living and working in the area had been left with no signal. Members were told mobile phone operators were now searching for places to put a mast up.

A spokesman for Arqiva said as Bilsdale is a Site of Special Scientific Interest to replicate what is there would not be a simple task. He added:

“The legal process to secure appropriate access to the site to build the temporary mast is taking longer than we initially anticipated and as a result it will not be operational by this weekend as we’d hoped.

“We are making representations to the court as to the severity and the urgency of the situation, but we are in the hands of the judicial system currently.”

 

 

Blaze in Harrogate district barns with 150 tonnes of straw bales

Two barns containing 150 tonnes of straw bales in Green Hammerton went up in flames just after 10pm last night.

Firefighters from Acomb, Knaresborough, York, Harrogate and Boroughbridge rushed to the scene and some are still on site this morning.

They used large jets to bring the fire under control and then focused on letting the fire burn out safely, according to a spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The spokesman told the Stray Ferret the firefighters were expected to remain on site for several hours today until the fire was completely extinguished. He added:

“We are still at the stage of controlling it and monitoring it. The investigation into the cause will start when that is done.”

There are typically about 40 bales of straw in a tonne, which indicates the scale of last night’s fire. Nobody is believed to have been hurt..

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‘Dispose batteries safely’ warning after bin wagon catches fire in Knaresborough

Harrogate Borough Council has warned people to be careful disposing their household waste after a bin wagon caught fire in Knaresborough.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue responded to reports of smoke coming from the refuse collection vehicle on Manse Lane at 9.24am yesterday.

Firefighters from Harrogate and Knaresborough rushed to the scene where they worked with the binmen to tip out the waste in a safe location and extinguish the fire. Nobody is believed to have been hurt.

An investigation by the fire crews determined the cause was likely to be a chemical reaction.

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A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said:

“Our crew responded effectively to the event and our thanks go to them and the fire crews for their quick actions to ensure the fire was safely contained.

“Can we remind businesses and residents to think carefully about what they are disposing of in their general waste.

“Please ensure substances and in particular batteries are disposed of safely, not in with their general waste.”

Arsonist sets fire to historic Knaresborough pub

An arsonist set fire to an historic Grade II listed Knaresborough pub where the owners live.

Blind Jack’s, on Market Place, was damaged in the blaze which was started at around 4am on Sunday morning.

Owners Christian and Alice Ogley were away at the time of the fire so nobody was injured.

The fire service managed to put out the blaze and police officers tracked down a suspect and arrested him.

However, it will take a highly-skilled craftsman to replace the badly damaged entrance as the windows and door is around 200-years-old. There is also smoke damage inside.

The pub is named after Knaresborough’s John Metcalf, the first professional road builder to emerge in the Industrial Revolution.

Mr Ogley told the Stray Ferret:

“Luckily a local had just gotten back from a stag do in Leeds. He had decided to cut through Market Place where he saw the fire.

“He banged on the door because he knew we lived there and then called 999. Without him it would have been much worse.”

Since news of the fire got out, Christian and Alice have been inundated with messages and offers of support. He added:

“That is the best thing to come out of this. We have had so many kind messages and treats from local people and businesses.

“We managed to open last night. So many people came to offer their support. All of this positivity has really outweighed the negativity.”

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While the pub will get a temporary replacement, the owners will need to get in experts to fix entrance which may force it to close for a few days in the near future.

A North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said:

“Crews were called to a report of a door of a building on fire. Crews extinguished this using a hose reel jet. This was believed to have been deliberate.”

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said:

“Police were called to Blind Jack’s pub in Knaresborough after reports that a man had set fire to the front door.

“Officers arrested a 44 year old man on suspicion of arson and he was later released under investigation.”

Bilsdale fire: still no news on when TV signal will be restored

Some people in the Harrogate district are still without a TV signal after Tuesday’s fire at the Bilsdale mast near Helmsley.

The fire left about 500,000 homes in the north east without TV and radio signal.

Some TV channels and BBC Radio Tees channels had been restored to homes last night. However, Arqiva, the communications company that operates the mast said it was still unsure when all channels would return.

A statement sent to the Stray Ferret said:

“The task to reinstate all the services that were available is a complex one and we are working hard to get as many services back up as quickly as we can.

“We are assessing all options open to us but the process is a gradual one. We apologise for the inconvenience but ask that you bear with us as our teams work hard to deliver solutions for as many people as possible as quickly and safely as we can.”

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A cordon is still in place sealing off land within 300 metres of the mast whilst engineers ensure the tower is structurally secure.

When this is done, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service will return to begin the process of investigating the cause of the fire.

The fire service said:

“At this time there is nothing to suggest that the fire is the result of any criminal activity but this cannot be confirmed until a closer examination has been carried out.”

Eight fire crews tackled the blaze at the 315-metre mast.