A fire which broke out in an empty York pub this afternoon underlines the need to bring it back into community use, says a local Labour councillor.

Cllr Kallum Taylor was delivering surveys to a local residents association at about 4.30pm when he noticed what looked like three teenagers running out of the beer garden of The Jubilee in Balfour Street, in the Leeman Road area.

"I smelled burning, looked up, and saw smoke coming out of the top floor," he said.

Cllr Taylor called the fire service. Firefighters arrived within minutes and managed to tackle the fire - but not before one of the rooms had been damaged. "I spoke to the commander afterwards, and he said there had been something like 10 per cent damage to the room of origin," Cllr Taylor said. "Fortunately there was no structural damage."

Cllr Taylor says the pub is known locally as a place where people hang out. "It has almost become normal to see kids and other people breaking in and out, with numerous reports made to the council and the owners about this over the last few years," he said.

The Jubilee hasn't been used as a pub since 2016, Cllr Taylor said - but a local group is keen to keep it as a community asset, so it can be run as a pub and community venue. "We're trying to save it being turned into private flats," he said.

To find out more about the "Jubilee Community Pub" project to save the pub visit www.tinyurl.com/savethejubilee