Volunteers who maintain a famous north-east landmark say they are “disappointed” a blaze wrecked a hillside only hours after the area was denied special protection.
A gorse fire burned on Mormond Hill on Thursday night near the famous white horse which is laid out in quartz on the hillside overlooking the nearby village of Strichen.
A fire crew from Fraserburgh was called at 7.50pm to the area but were unable to reach the remote site and allowed the fire to run its course.
Last night local councillor and resident Lenny Pirie, who was involved in a clear up of the horse in July, said he was disappointed that the hill has been scarred by the blaze.
“It’s badly scorched all around the horse but there’s no damage to the horse itself,” Mr Pirie said. “It’s disappointing but the main thing is no one is hurt and the horse is okay.
“I don’t know if it was an accident, perhaps someone dropped a cigarette. It’s our pride and joy in Strichen. It was a fair blaze and I know the fire appliance had difficulty getting up the hill.”
Mr Pirie added his thanks to the fire brigade for monitoring the situation.
A spokesman for the fire service said: “At 7.50pm the Fraserburgh appliance was called out to Mormond Hill – it was a gorse fire.
“There was no threat to property or life so it was left to burn. The location was around two miles from the track and the darkness made the situation dangerous.”
The spokesman added that the area was checked the following morning.
The blaze began only hours after north-east councillors blocked a bid to grant Mormond Hill special landscape status to protect it against over-development.
At a meeting of Aberdeenshire’s infrastructure committee, planning chief Robert Gray told members that Mormond Hill was not a “Premier League” standard vista and advised against offering it special status.
Landscapes which were granted protection include the Deveron Valley and Bennachie.
