If you are in the area, please send us your pictures and stories to 81441 or send via e-mail to news@stv.tv

A blaze that broke out after a freight train carrying fuel derailed and caught fire in East Ayrshire has been extinguished.

Flames shot 50 feet into the air and a huge plume of thick black smoke drifted above the crash scene near Stewarton.

A railway bridge partially collapsed and an exclusion zone was set up around the area.

Residents told of seeing a fireball after the accident, which happened shortly after 6am on Tuesday.

Six of the 10 wagons were derailed and one was alight. There were fears a second wagon may catch fire.

The 45-year-old male driver was not hurt and no other injuries were reported.

The BP rail wagons were carrying heating oil and diesel from the Grangemouth refinery to a Scottish Fuels terminal in Kilmarnock when the rear section derailed.

DB Schenker was the train operator.

The accident happened near a bridge which collapsed at Peacock Bank Farm.

The train hit a pylon after it came off the rails. Up to 100 local homes lost power as a result.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch was also there, along with local police and fire crews.

Strathclyde Police said the B778 at Kirkford and the Old Kilmarnock to Stewarton roads were closed.

Scottish Power said up to 100 homes in the Kilmaurs area of Ayrshire lost electricity as a result of the crash. A spokesman confirmed that some power lines were damaged, and said they have turned off two circuits as a precaution.

The railway line is single track at the point where the accident happened.

Network Rail said disruption on the rail network was likely to go on for much of the day.

Local train services between Barrhead in East Renfrewshire and Kilmarnock were stopped and alternative arrangements put in place for travellers.

Buses were replacing trains between Barrhead and Kilmarnock. The Glasgow to Carlisle service was running via Barassie.

If you are in the area, please send us your pictures and stories to 81441 or send via e-mail to news@stv.tv