Crews work through night to tackle wildfire

Firefighters have worked through the night tackling a large wildfire near a wind farm in Moray.

Around 30 firefighters are at the scene of the blaze, which broke out near Paul’s Hill wind farm, close to Aberlour, at 2.58pm on Monday.

At the height of the incident, nine fire appliances and two water carriers were at the scene but this had been scaled back to six appliances by Tuesday morning.

The blaze covers an area of six miles by two miles.

There are no reports of any casualties.

Fire crews have also been tackling a large grass fire in the west of Scotland.

Nine fire engines were sent to the scene near Bonhill, West Dunbartonshire, after the alarm was raised at around 5.30pm on Monday.

One fire engine remained at the scene on Tuesday morning.

The incidents came on the day that Scotland recorded its warmest Easter Monday on record.

The mercury reached 24.2C (75.6F) at Kinlochewe in Wester Ross shortly after 4pm.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has issued a warning to the public about the dangers of wildfires.

It said on Twitter: “Our crews have worked tirelessly to tackle a large number of significant wildfires across Scotland this #Easter weekend.

“There remains an extreme risk of wildfire across the country in the coming days, with temperatures remaining high and moisture levels low.

“We encourage everyone who is enjoying the countryside during this period of extreme danger to exercise caution and be aware of how easily fires can start – and spread.”