Fire crews in Dumfries and Galloway battle wildfire near M74 following record high temperatures

Firefighters are working to control a forest fire in Dumfries and Galloway as the record breaking heat continues to cause problems.

Although 10-15 degrees cooler than yesterday, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) in Dumfries and Galloway is battling to bring a wildfire north of Moffat near the M74 under control.

Four crews are tackling the fire, which is believed to have started at around 2pm.

A warning that wildfires are a "very high" risk has been put in place in Southern Scotland.

The warning is expected to last until Saturday 23 July.

It comes as the UK recorded its hottest day on record yesterday (19 July) with a red weather warning for extreme heat being issued for some parts of the country.

In Scotland temperatures reached 31.6C in Eskdalemuir and it is thought the Scottish record of 32.9C, was likely to have been broken in parts of the Borders.

Regarding the incident near the M74, a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 2.21pm on Wednesday 20 July to reports of a wildfire in ground off the B719 near Moffat.

“Operations control immediately mobilised four fire appliances to the location and firefighters are working to extinguish the fire.

“Crews will leave the scene once the area is made safe.”

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