A huge fire in a north-east town which destroyed thousands of pounds worth of fishing gear could have been started deliberately.
More than 30 firefighters tackled the blaze at Macduff’s Mill Street on Saturday afternoon.
A large number of nets, wooden pallets and tyres were wiped out in the storage yard as plumes of thick, black smoke filled the sky.
Yesterday, the police and fire service opened a joint investigation into the cause of the incident.
Police said inquiries were ongoing last night, adding that officers had been unable to rule out foul play.
Four fire crews from Macduff, Banff, Portsoy and Peterhead were called to the incident at about 3.30pm and took three hours to bring the blaze under control.
Police set up a cordon around the area and traffic was diverted along surrounding streets.
Some congestion was caused by drivers entering the area to get a closer look at the fire. Last night, the efforts of the 999 crews were praised by Councillor Mark Findlater, who is chairman of the local community safety group.
He said: “This was a substantial fire and the smoke could be seen from some distance away.
“I think the emergency services did an amazing job – particularly because this part of the town would have been relatively busy at the time.
“There was some concern that the fire could spread to residential properties on nearby Commercial Street, but the fire crews were able to contain it to the yard.”
Locals said fishing nets, rubber tyres and other equipment had been stored at the yard for several years.
Anyone who might have seen anything suspicious shortly before the fire have been urged to contact police on 101.