FIREFIGHTERS are dealing with a 60-acre wildfire in the Scottish Highlands.

Fire and rescue crews were alerted at 10pm on Sunday to the fire which ripped through scurb and heath over Kinlochleven, a town popular with climbers and winter sports enthusiasts.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service say there is no danger to life or property from the fire which hit an area equivalent to 34 football pitches.

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Some 11 firefighters were still at the scene this morning 12 hours after fire broke out.

An SFRS spokesman said the blaze had been difficult to deal with as pockets of the scrubland were inaccessible.

Firefighters are expected to remain at the site till around noon.

It comes after the SFRS warned of an increased risk of wildfires around Scotland.

The Herald:

Members of the public were being urged to act responsibly to help prevent wildfires by taking care with bonfires, smoking and disposing of litter.

On Friday, statistics compiled over the previous days showed a significant increase in the number of wildfires being experienced across Scotland.

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The warning followed several wildfires across the country in the past week, including one at Durness in the Highlands, leading to properties being evacuated.

A forest fire at Dalmellington in East Ayrshire took three days to put out while a blaze near Aberlour, Moray, took firefighters two days to get under control due to high winds.

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On Sunday, firefighters had been tackling a wildfire just outside of Rosehearty, near Fraserburgh.

According to SFRS, the fire was in three separate “sectors” with the largest measuring 500 metres by 300 metres.