Police and scenes-of-crimes officers have been making a fingertip search of the ruins of the mill, which was involved in a fire on Thursday night (01/08/2013). A red petroleum container has been removed from the site though officers say it is too early to tell whether it was used in starting the blaze.
The mill has been subject to many incidents of vandalism over the last few years and thieves have removed lead from the roof and stolen electric cables.
Colne Mills, Britannia Road, Slaithwaite a derelict 2 storey Mill was involved in the fire. Initial crews attending the incident required the support of 6 pumps and an aerial appliance to deal with incident. The building was 100 metres x 150 metres with the upper floor of the building being involved. One aerial appliance, 5 jets, 1 hose reel jet and 2 breathing apparatus were used tackle the blaze. The fire was brought under control at approx 21:45hrs. Appliances from Huddersfield, Holmfirth, Slaithwaite, Elland, Halifax, Batley, Fairweather Green and Meltham attended.
