AN investigation is continuing in to the cause of a fire that's affected about a million people.

A fire at the Bilsdale TV transmitting centre was extinguished last night but concerns remain around the structural integrity of a transmitter mast, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (NYFRS) has said.

A 300m exclusion zone remains around the mast this morning and the BBC say it is affecting about a million people who have been left without TV and radio.

Click here for advice from the BBC on what to do if you have been affected.

A spokesman for the service said: "We will return today (August 11) when the site is declared safe to bring the incident to a conclusion."

People are being advised not to retune televisions and radios, but rather be patient and use catch-up services instead.

More than 30 firefighters tackled the blaze at the remote, 1,000ft-tall TV transmitter earlier today amid reports of TV outages across York, North Yorkshire and Teesside.

NYFRS said it would be working today with Arqiva, the site operators, “to bring the incident to safe conclusion”.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (NYFRS) earlier said that six appliances had been sent to tackle the blaze at the Bilsdale transmitting centre, high on the North York Moors, north of Helmsley.

Firefighters said the blaze included the tower itself, which is 315 metres (1,032 ft) tall.

The tower was built in 1969 and currently supplies digital TV signals to a large area of north-east England.

The fire is understood to be affected transmission of a range of TV broadcasts, including Freeview transmission.

A BBC spokesman said: “TV and radio services are being disrupted in parts of North Yorkshire and Teesside following a fire at the Bilsdale transmitter.

“We’re in close contact with the company that runs the transmitter who are working on restoring services. For those in the affected area, BBC Radio Tees is still available on BBC Sounds and online, as are the BBC’s other radio stations. BBC TV can be viewed through BBC iPlayer and on cable and satellite platforms.”