SIX fire crews attended reports of a van on fire in the basement of the Gatehaus high rise building on Leeds Road, Bradford, this morning.

More than 40 residents were evacuated from the building at 4am after fire alarms went off.

Smoke and fumes from the fire were reportedly drawn through the building by the air conditioning system.

Firefighters took about an hour to put out the blaze which left a layer of soot on other vehicles in the underground car park.

One resident told the T&A that the vehicle involved was a small van which seemed to have been abandoned with a person living in it.

They said: "I saw an open side door yesterday, and some shoes on the ground in front of a car, like someone lived there,. I'm not sure anyone was there during the fire.

"The van was burned to the ground. Almost everyone had to leave building. There was a lot of smoke.

"We were standing outside for at least one and half hours."

Evacuees were due to be taken to City Hall but that was not needed as residents were allowed back into the building once the fire was out.

Another resident said the smoke from the fire was taken into the building by the air conditioning.

He said everyone was woken by the alarms and it was still very smoky in the garage.

His vehicle was covered in a layer of soot.

Fire officer Rob Whittaker said fire investigators were at the scene this morning to determine the cause of the blaze.

He said there was a lot of smoke and the location of the burning vehicle made it a complex operation.

Firefighters were on the limit of their hose reels in controlling the fire which did not spread.

Crews used six breathing apparatus sets, one large jet, one hose reel and positive ventilation fans.

Fire crews attended from Bradford, Shipley, Odsal, Fairweather Green and Stanningley.

An aerial appliance attended from Leeds and other specialist appliances and officers also attended.