(Image: WILL FOXX)
Firefighters were called to Petelee's "eyesore" Lee House after a fire broke out on Tuesday.
Emergency services were called to derelict building on Upper Yoden Way on Tuesday afternoon (October 13).
Crews left the scene after 6pm, but the cause of the fire has not yet been revealed.
A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS) said: “At 5.35pm on Tuesday (October 13), we received a report of a fire at Lee House on Upper Yoden Way, Peterlee.
“One crew from Seaham Fire Station attended to put out the fire, leaving the scene at 6.04pm.”
Durham Police confirmed no arrests have been made, and no one is believed to have been injured.
A spokesperson said: “We were called by the fire service to reports of a fire at Lee House on Upper Yoden Way, Peterlee, just after 4.14pm yesterday (October 13).
“The fire was extinguished and no one is believed to have been hurt.
“No arrests have been made.”
A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson added: “We were called to a fire on Upper Yoden Way in Peterlee at 4.31pm on October 13.
"We dispatched three crews from our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), one specialist paramedic, one duty officer and one ambulance crew. We were later stood down by Durham Fire Service.”
The disused tower block has long attracted anti-social behaviour and been used for underage drinking, drug-taking and fire starting.
In 2022 a Durham Police spokesperson said: “Kids are taking a risk by going into a disused building unsupervised, there is evidence of underage drinking, possible drug-taking, damage to windows and evidence of fire-setting.
“Every time this is reported to us, our officers attend and take appropriate action, but we suspect it happens more times than it is reported.”
Lee House in Peterlee, County Durham, has stood tall since the 1970s, but its two clockfaces stopped working a number of years ago.
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Peterlee Town Council previously said that despite no longer being the owner of the building, they are "aware of the ongoing public interest in Lee House and its clock tower, given the building’s prominent position within the town centre".
In 2022, Durham Police said they were working with the council and fire service to secure Lee House and find a long-term solution to reports of young people entering it.