Television and radio reception in Filey, and across a large part of north east England, has been lost after lightning struck the Bilsdale transmitter mast near Helmsley. Firefighters were called to the mast on Tuesday after an engineer working on the site reported a fire within the structure.

The 1,032 foot mast was photographed with flames pouring from it and television and radio signals were lost to nearly a million people across the north east. From Tadcaster to Seaham, Filey to Bishop Auckland, viewers found their TV screens blank.

Although the fire was quickly extinguished, concerns about the structural integrity of the mast has seen North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service place a 980ft exclusion zone around the mast.

Operator Arqiva said it would bring in temporary equipment, but could not say when services would be restored. A spokesman said: “Our teams are currently mobilising temporary equipment to site however we are unable to provide specific timelines for restoration of any services.”

The services affected include:
Channels on the PSB1, 2, 3, COM4, 5, 6, 7 and LTV television multiplexes
BBC Radio Tees, BBC Radios 1-4 and BBC DAB
Commercial radio stations SDL, North Yorkshire DAB, BAUER Teesside, Digital 1, TFM, Capital, Heart and Classic FM
Sky, Freesat and cable services are not affected.

Area covered by the Bilsdale transmitter mast