PATIENTS had to be evacuated from a hospital after a fire was deliberately started on one of the wards.

A male patient is thought to have used a lighter to ignite cardboard bed pans and other supplies on a trolley at York Hospital.

Eighty-six patients were evacuated from wards on the third floor of the hospital.

A man was being questioned by police last night following the early morning blaze in the hospital's Medical Admissions Unit.

As the fire began, quick-thinking nursing staff evacuated four adult patients and a three-month-old baby from the blazing room, and a further 14 patients from other rooms within the unit.

Fire crews arrived at the scene within minutes and two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were sent in to extinguish the blaze in one of the bays.

Station officer Mal Austwick, who co-ordinated the operation, ordered the evacuation of a further 68 patients from adjacent wards as a precaution, including eight people from the coronary care unit.

He praised the actions of nursing staff in carrying out the evcacuation as the unit quickly became engulfed in thick, black smoke.

"The smoke was very hazardous and we might have had to make a number of rescues, if it wasn't for the hospital's evacuation procedures," he said.

It is estimated the fire caused thousands of pounds worth of damage and two hospital staff suffered slight injuries from the fire, including smoke inhalation.

Later, a hospital spokesman said 128 patients from the unit were being cared for in other areas of the hospital while the majority of those evacuated were returned to the wards not affected by the fire or smoke.

York Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Jim Easton said: "The hospital is expecting to operate as normally as possible today, and all patients who are due to come in for appointments or treatments should continue to do so."

An incident room has been set up at the hospital to deal with calls from people concerned about the wellbeing of relatives.