Firefighters tackle forest and moorland blaze

Dozens of firefighters and forestry workers have been fighting a forest and moorland blaze in Dumfries and Galloway.

The fire service said it broke out on Thursday afternoon near the village of Mossdale.

At its peak nine fire appliances and a helicopter were involved along with forestry and estate workers.

Fire crews remained at the scene on Friday as the operation to bring it under control continued.

'Until darkness came down'

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said there were no reports of casualties and that fire crews were likely to remain at the scene for some time.

Bill Tyre, senior harvesting manager with Scottish Woodlands, said: "The helicopter was brought in last night and he was applying water until darkness came down."

He added: "We managed to get ferry pumps and hoses up to the firefighters with one of our forestry machines which was on site and being used to bring logs out. We have been doing that this morning as well."

The incident is the latest in a series of wildfires to have broken out across the country.