INVESTIGATIONS are under way after three fires at the weekend were thought to have been started deliberately.

Although no one was hurt in the incidents, the fires have damaged the buildings, according to North Yorkshire Fire Brigade.

Fires at a barn in Dishforth, a disused factory in Colburn and a pub in Knaresborough bore the hallmarks of being started deliberately, the fire service said.

The first incident was reported at about 2pm on Saturday, in which a 25 by 10 metre barn was destroyed.

Crews from Boroughbridge and Ripon found ten tonnes of hay and straw well alight.

A spokesman said: “There was severe fire damage to the building, resulting in its collapse.”

Crews were then called to a derelict factory in Catterick Road, Colburn, near Richmond, at about 6.30pm.

Units from four neighbouring towns spent about 90 minutes fighting the fire, which started after rubber matting was set alight.

The property was extensively smoke-damaged.

A fire brigade spokesman said: “The fire is being classed as deliberate.”

In the third incident, a wooden smoking shelter adjoining a pub, in Stockwell Lane, Knaresborough, near Harrogate, was destroyed.

Crews from Knaresborough and Harrogate were sent to the incident at about 3.40am yesterday.

A spokesman said: “The shelter was destroyed by the fire and it spread through an extractor fan vent into the pub, causing minor smoke damage and minor fire damage to the ceiling and roof.”

■ Firefighters were called to a fire in a basement flat, in South Park Road, Harrogate, at about 10.30am yesterday. There was no suggestion the fire was deliberate.