Fire causes serious damage at Hand Picked Hotels' Crathorne Hall hotel
Around 100 fire fighters are fighting to contain a blaze which broke out in the roof of the four-red-AA star Crathorne Hall hotel in Yarm, North Yorkshire, this morning.
Twenty guests and 20 staff were evacuated from the 37-bedroom property owned by Hand Picked Hotels at around 10am after smoke alarms were activated. No-one was injured.
Fire fighters from three services in North Yorkshiree, Durham and Darlington and Cleveland are trying to stop the blaze from spreading beyond the nursery wing of the Edwardian property. It is believed the fire broke out in the roof space of the nursery wing, which contains bedrooms and meeting rooms.
A spokesperson for Hand Picked Hotels, said: "It is too early to say yet how the fire started."
Set in 15 acres of grounds on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors, the building was owned by the Dugdale family until 1977.