Firefighters raced to a building used as a nuns' retreat after one of the occupants reported a smell of smoke.

Two crews were despatched to the three-storey Sneaton Castle Centre, next to St Hilda's Priory in Whitby, together with an aerial ladder platform shortly after 2pm.

However, a quick search of the centre, which can accomodate 30 guests, found the cause of the smoke - a seized gearbox on an electric wheelchair.

The wheelchair was taken outside and the rest of the building was double checked using a thermal imaging camera