Hay bales catch fire in dramatic blaze on Elgin farm

Fire crews were called to an Elgin farm after hay bales were engulfed by huge flames last night.

Shocked residents near Linkwood Farm on the southern outskirts of the town looked on as the massive blaze took hold.

The incident happened while emergency services dealt with a separate ongoing fire on the other side of Elgin at Brumley Brae.

Fire engines drove across the field to reach the Linkwood incident near Moray Sports Centre and Linkwood Primary School with crews taking water from the nearby burn.

Several stacks of hay bales could be seen in the Linkwood Farm field in Elgin but none of the others were affected by the fire.

It is not known what caused the single stack to catch fire.

The fire service confirmed a fire engine was sent from both Buckie and Rothes to the incident shortly before 6.30pm.

Personnel left the scene at about 8.30pm last night.

A police spokeswoman said: “At around 8.20pm on Wednesday August 23, police received a report of hay bales on fire at a farm in the Linkwood Road area of Elgin.

“Inquiries into the circumstances are at an early stage.”