A man was taken to hospital following a fire above a Keighley town centre shop this afternoon.

Fire fighters responded to the blaze in a first floor property above Bargain Booze, in Cavendish Street. The incident happened at about 3pm.

Fire fighters and police officers were still at the scene at 3.45pm, and the stretch of road which includes the entrance to Cavendish Street Retail Park remained closed to traffic.
 

Keighley Fire Station watch commander Andy Quinn said: "There was an elderly man taken to hospital with smoke inhalation.
 

"It was a three-storey block of flats. There was a gentleman on the ground floor who had made his way out by the time we got there. He was in the back of the ambulance.
 

"The fire was on the first floor and was probably caused by a discarded cigarette. There was some damage - it wasn't gutted."
 

Roy Lambert, who owns the nearby Cavendish Cameras and Photography shop, said: "We just noticed a policeman outside and when we went out and looked up there was smoke coming from the windows and lots of people hanging around and watching.
 

"We didn't even hear the fire engine arrive."
 

He said he did not see any flames, but added the heat had been intense enough to shatter the property's windows.