Firefighters tackle large gorse blaze on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh

Firefighters are tackling a large gorse fire on Arthur’s Seat in the centre of Edinburgh.

The blaze was seen spreading rapidly across the hill in the city’s Holyrood Park and police have urged people to stay away from the area.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said four appliances and specialist resources were sent to the scene after the alarm was raised, at about 16:05.

A spokesperson said there were no reported casualties.

Supporters at the Hibernian v Kilmarnock match were told to avoid the Willowbrae, Duddingston and Holyrood areas when leaving the Easter Road stadium.

Reports suggest people were seen leaving Arthur’s Seat as the fire spread and a large section of Holyrood Park has been closed to pedestrians.

The landmark is near Edinburgh’s historic Old Town and climbing the hill to enjoy views of the city is a popular activity for tourists and locals.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “Members of the public no longer need to alert our operations control room about this fire, as we are receiving a number of calls to this incident.”

Nick Brice, from Brighton, said he was scared when he saw the flames spread on his way down the hill.

He told BBC Scotland News: “We could see this little plume of smoke on the ridge at the far side and it just got bigger and bigger.

“All of a sudden we could see these flames starting to come up and people noticed it spreading fast.

“The smoke started to really build and then these flames started to cover the ridge and we realised the wind was blowing it right towards us.

“We had to get down to the road fast because it was going to come across the whole area.”

Mr Brice, who is performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, said he passed people still going up the hill and urged them to turn around.

He added: “Now the whole hillside is covered in flames and smoke coming down over the path we walked.”

Smoke has been billowing over the city during one of its busiest weekends of the year, with the Edinburgh festivals in full swing.

Oasis also played sold-out concerts at Murrayfield on Friday and Saturday to around 140,000 fans over the two nights. The band will return to play a third date on Tuesday.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has issued several wildfire warnings this year, with the country seeing a particularly warm and dry summer.

All of Scotland experienced water scarcity in May, with Scottish Water warning of the driest start to the year since 1964.

The Edinburgh blaze follows a recent spate of wildfires in the Highlands, considered “the biggest Scotland has ever seen”.

In February 2019 dozens of firefighters battled through the night to extinguish a large gorse fire on Arthur’s Seat.

The blaze engulfed about 800 square metres of gorse on the Salisbury Crags.