Hundreds see firefighters battle dramatic hillside blaze at Arbroath’s Victoria Park

Firefighters were scrambled after a hillside fire at Victoria Park in Arbroath on Tuesday evening.

Two fire crews were dispatched from Arbroath station after reports of flames were seen on the hill at the park.

The alarm was raised shortly before 6.30pm after flames were spotted spreading across the gorse-covered hillside at the popular beauty spot.

Images from the scene show thick black smoke covering the area and a large patch of land alight.

One eyewitness told The Courier they saw the flames travel quickly towards the hillside.

They said: “There was substantial thick smoke rising and covering a wide range of the eastern side of Arbroath.

“There were hundreds of people at Victoria Park watching the fire and many also setting off more fireworks while the firefighters were tackling the blaze, which seemed very odd.

“The firemen took around 20 minutes or so to get the fire under control.

“The fire was rising very close to the houses at the top of the hill.”

Firefighters tackle blaze at Arbroath’s Victoria Park

A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We received an alert at 6.27pm of a fire at Victoria Park in Arbroath.

“Two appliances were dispatched and on arrival found a large area of open gorse alight.

“Crews worked to bring the fire under control and have now extinguished the fire.

“The stop message was issued at 7.11pm.”