A FIRE has badly damaged a landmark mill which is now being renovated.

Firefighters said it was sheer luck the blaze was spotted or the entire building would have been destroyed by a raging inferno.

Passersby spotted the flames coming from Newsome Mill at 2.20am today and the first crews on the scene immediately called for back-up.

Firefighters from Huddersfield, Slaithwaite and Holmfirth immediately poured water through the windows before breaking in to tackle the seat of the fire.

The fire – which is believed suspicious – took two hours to bring under control.

Huddersfield crew manager Dave Boothroyd said: “The ground floor was well alight when we arrived.

"It had been seen by someone going to work and if it had carried on for a further 20 minutes or so the whole building could have been lost.’’

Part of the mill is being demolished and the rest transformed into flats and town houses.