AN INVESTIGATION into a fire at an old hospital block at the Cumberland Infirmary has revealed it wasn't started deliberately.

Crews from the east and west fire stations in Carlisle were alerted to a small fire on the upper level of the disused building in the early hours of Sunday, March 24.

The block is currently being demolished to make way for a new £35m cancer centre.

The new facilities are expected to be open to patients by summer 2021.

Firefighters were called to the scene at 4.45am and were there for a couple of hours.

A main jet and ground monitor were used to extinguish the fire which was difficult to reach.

A spokesperson for North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust told the News & Star: “The investigation into the cause of the fire is still ongoing but early indications are that the fire was not started deliberately and nobody was injured.

“We continue to work with our demolition contractors to ensure work takes place to the highest safety and quality standards.

“The demolition work is scheduled for completion at the end of this month.”