FIRE crews were today investigating a blaze which ripped through a bar and restaurant in the centre of Colne.

Firefighters were called to the Istanbul Bar and Cafe, Church Street at about 6pm yesterday after the fire broke out in a chefs' rest room on the third floor of the building.

Around 30 firefighters battled the blaze which caused severe fire and smoke damage to the second floor and water damage to the ground floor where the restaurant business is based.

Four workers were in the restaurant when the fire broke out but were alerted by smoke alarms and made their own way to safety before calling the emergency services.

Police sealed off the top of Church Street and Market Street in the centre of town while fire teams battled with the blaze.

Traffic was diverted around the back of Market Street on to Craddock Road and Keighley Road while the incident was dealt with, which took about three hours.

The restaurant is expected to remain closed for about a week.

Watch manager Denise Hodges said: "The fire was quite severe and has caused some quite serious damage to the restaurant.

"The blaze seems to have started in some sort of rest room used by the chefs on the third floor and at the moment the cause seems to have been accidental.

"Fire investigators will be returning to the scene today to have a further look at possible causes."

No-one at the restaurant was available for comment.