Fire at famous Edinburgh landmark prompts scores of 999 calls

Fire: The blaze on Arthur's Seat was seen from miles around.Christopher Jennings

A fire at a famous landmark prompted scores of emergency calls from concerned members of the public.

Firefighters were alerted to the blaze on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh after the 999 calls began flooding in at around 10pm on Thursday.

An engine with five firefighters from Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service was dispatched to the hill, which rises 823ft above the capital and is popular with hillwalkers.

The crew made part of their journey via a road which stops short of the summit and had to complete the rest of the trek on foot.

When they reached the peak, at around 10.30pm, firefighters were confronted by smouldering across a wide patch of gorse and had to use beaters and water packs to extinguish the flames.

A spokeswoman for the fire service said the blaze was brought under control within an hour and a half of the first calls coming in. She said the cause of the fire was not known.

In total, 46 people called the emergency services to report the incident.

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