A ROBOT was the cause of an unusual call-out for the emergency services this evening.
Firefighters responded to a York University smoke alarm which was activated at just before 6pm.
The alarm came from the university's Heslington East Campus, which houses the new £30m Department of Theatre, Film and Television complex.
Part of the ground floor of the building has been turned into an arena for a Robot Wars project.
One of the robots had been plugged in to charge and had begun to catch fire, setting off the alarm.
A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "The fire was limited to the robot only."
Fire crews were at the complex for half an hour to deal with the robo-blaze, which was attributed to an electrical fault.
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