Residents flee homes after warehouse blaze

TERRIFIED residents were evacuated from an upmarket suburb after a massive fire destroyed a warehouse at an industrial estate.

Police told people to leave eight homes in the early this morning after a 45ft blaze took hold of a unit at Balmakeith Industrial Estate, Nairn, used by J. Wilson Plumbing and Heating Service.

Train companies were also alerted to the incident after smoke billowed across the Inverness to Aberdeen railway line towards the homes in Lochloy Avenue.

Twenty-one firefighters spent over two hours extinguishing the flames which were reported to the fire service at 11.50pm on Wednesday.

A joint investigation into the cause of the blaze has been launched by fire officers and police.

> See Friday's Courier for more.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.