Police have stepped up patrols on a fire-ravaged Aberdeen hillside after more than 10 blazes in less than a week.
Fire teams have stressed there is still “no evidence of criminality” but have also said they “do not believe in coincidences” as investigations continue.
The emergency services have been dispatched to the Gramps region of the city to deal with significant gorse blazes every day since Friday last week.
And yesterday teams were called out once more, at around 11am, spending several hours on the hill to extinguish the flames.
Although many of the fires to have struck the area over the last week have been relatively small, some have sent huge volumes of smoke billowing in to the skies above the city.
And parts of the landscape have been left charred and scarred, scoured of vegetation by the flames.
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So far, no evidence of foul play has been discovered anywhere on the site but last night Scottish Fire and Rescue Service group manager Darren Riddell said “we don’t believe in coincidence”.
Before last Friday, fire crews had only been called out to the Gramps region eight times this year – a number of those instances amidst the worst of the summer heatwave, which caused chaos across Moray and the Highlands.
Yesterday evening, Mr Riddell said police were now involved in the investigation into the source of the blazes and urged walkers enjoying the natural beauty of the area to be careful with open flames.
He said: “We understand it can be distressing and worrying for the community when they see these fires.
“We can confirm that we are working closely with Police Scotland in order to identify the cause of these incidents and take appropriate actions.
“It is important that people are aware that the ground is still very dry following the recent period of hot weather we have experienced.
“Please do not discard lit cigarettes, do not start camp fires, take rubbish home and do not drop litter in the area.”
He added: “Although there has been no evidence of criminality, we do not believe in coincidences.
“These fires have all been started at the same times in the same areas. Therefore, police have stepped up patrols.
“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will work closely with the police to identify any individuals setting fires deliberately and bring them to justice.”
Anyone with information about suspicious activity in the Gramps region is urged to phone the police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 111 555.
