On Air Now

Mike Nicholson

3:00pm - 6:00pm

  • 01723 336444

Now Playing

Phil Oakey & Giorgio Moroder

Together In Electric Dreams

Download
Listen Live Advertise

Concerns 1000 Foot Bilsdale TV Mast Could Collapse

Wednesday, 11 August 2021 07:09

By Matthew Pells

A fire at the transmitter mast on the North York Moors causes "concerns about it's structural integrity"

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service say they attended a fire at the Bilsdale transmitting centre near Helmsley yesterday afternoon.

The initial call came at 13:19 from an engineer working at the transmitter, stating that he believed the mast was on fire due to smoke coming from below the first stay level (approximately 50 – 60 metres up). Calls were also received from members of the public who could see the smoke from some distance.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service say they worked to control the fire in difficult circumstances and extinguished a fire in a single-storey stone building and a 315ft transmitter mast. Only one building in a complex of four was affected and there are concerns about the structural integrity of the mast.

A 300m exclusion zone has been put in place around the mast.

Eight pumps from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the incident and firefighting has now ceased until the site has been confirmed as safe for further work.

The incident was attended by crews from Helmsley, Malton, Thirsk, Danby, Coulby Newham, Ripon, Northallerton and Acomb in addition to mobile water bowsers from Tadcaster and Boroughbridge.

NYFRS say they will be working on site today with Arqiva, the site operators, to bring the incident to safe conclusion.

The blaze at the Bilsdale transmitter on the North York Moors was reportedly caused by a lightning strike.

The damage has switched off broadcasts for about a million people in parts of North Yorkshire and Teesside.

Share

Did you find this article useful?

This is the Coast is committed to providing a daily local news service for the Yorkshire Coast. We are a small locally owned and operated business which employs professional journalists and reporters. We do not receive any public funding or grants and we are entirely funded by our local commercial operations. We enjoy fabulous support from local businesses who work with us on their advertising and marketing campaigns, but the cost of providing high quality, well researched, fact checked local news coverage is significant.

If you appreciate what This is the Coast does, and would like to help support our journalism, please consider supporting us on a monthly basis today.

A small contribution from all our readers would really help support independent journalism for the Yorkshire Coast.

More from Yorkshire Coast News

Comments

Add a comment

Log in to the club or enter your details below.

Follow Us

Get Our Apps

Our Apps are now available for iOS, Android and Smart Speakers.

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play
  • Just ask Amazon Alexa
  • Available on Roku

Today's Weather

  • Scarborough

    Heavy Rain

    High: 8°C | Low: 3°C

  • Filey

    Heavy Rain

    High: 8°C | Low: 3°C

  • Whitby

    Light rain

    High: 7°C | Low: 3°C

  • Bridlington

    Heavy Rain

    High: 8°C | Low: 3°C

  • Hornsea

    Heavy Rain

    High: 8°C | Low: 3°C

  • Driffield

    Heavy Rain

    High: 7°C | Low: 3°C

News

© Copyright 2025 This is the Coast Limited. This is the Coast is licensed by PRS & PPL to stream music online. Powered by Aiir.