More than 50 firefighters had to be called out from areas across the north-east after a huge blaze struck an Inverurie commercial mill.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman confirmed that operators sent 55 firefighters to Lethenty Mill, where a sawmill, photography studio and repair workshop were all damaged by the flames.
Firefighters were sent from Inverurie, Aberdeen, Oldmeldrum, Kintore and Insch to tackle the blaze at around 4.50am, with many remaining at the site hours later.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “The fire was well developed and crews were still battling until late this morning.
“The stop message came back at 9.03am meaning no other appliances were needed but at that time we were still battling the fire.
“We would describe this as a fire which was very large.”
He added: “The fire has affected three buildings. Crews will be dealing with this for the majority of the day.”
Senior officer David Rout said:“This is a very complex building which has presented us with a significant and challenging fire.”
Six businesses are understood to have been affected by the fire, including a vintage furniture store and an engineering firm.
Crews also had to call for a support unit, a water carrier from Turriff and a height vehicle..
A single-track road approaching the property was closed for large parts of the morning, with police warning of potential delays to those travelling in the area.
No one was injured in the incident.
Fire crews remains on the scene
Smoke from the terrible fire at Lethenty Mill this morning. pic.twitter.com/dwnxbEicLv
— Barry Gibb (@26bg) April 28, 2016