Crews bring huge fire under control near Fort William

Firefighters worked through the night to bring under control a huge grassland blaze.

Crews were called to tackle the wildfire north of Fort William in the Highlands at around 4pm yesterday.

The blaze broke out on grassland and heath north of the B8004, stretching for a distance of around three miles (4.8km). No properties in the area needed to be evacuated.

A couple of appliances are still in attendance to monitor the scene, a spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said.

Ross, Skye and Lochaber Liberal Democrat MP Charles Kennedy praised the efforts of emergency services crews who tackled the fire.

"I have never witnessed anything quite on the scale of yesterday's massive hill fire above Banavie and Corpach," he said "If the initial reports are confirmed, then it is miraculous that there was no significant loss of property, far less worse.

"The spate of such fires recently across the Highlands acts as a timely warning to us all. But most of all it makes us all profoundly grateful for the professional expertise and courage of our firefighters and the other emergency services. We are indebted to them all."

PA