Grass fires dog Cumbernauld and Kilsyth

Crews in both towns have rushed out to extinguish several grass fires and hot spots have included Croy’s old quarry and Palacerigg where peat bogs prove to be highly flammable.

Shortly before going to press, it emerged that crews had attended to additional incidents on Monday, April 8.

Another grass fire was reported in Old Glasgow Road in Cumbernauld Village and firefighters also had to contain another in Greenfaulds. Support staff were also called out to a larger grass fire in Caldercruix.

Although nowhere near the scale of the blazes that gripped the Highlands last week, the incidents present logistical difficulties for both crews. Watch Commander John Ross of Cumbernauld fire station said: “These fires burn for a long time and are obviously very time consuming to put out.

“They’ve come about because of the very dry weather and the fact it’s the school holidays,’’ he added.