UPDATE: Police inquiries ongoing following major flat fire in Inverness
Inquiries are ongoing into the cause of a fire which has gutted a flat in an Inverness neighbourhood.
Emergency services were called to Tomatin Road in Hilton about 2.10am today.
Fire crews battled the blaze in a flat, which is above a row of shops, for five hours.
Police Scotland said a number of residents had been evacuated.
It said in a statement: “Tomatin Road is closed and inquiries into the cause of the fire are ongoing.
Inverness shops closed ‘until further notice’ following major flat fire
Fire crews called to Inverness house fire in early hours
The fire was reported to be out at 7.13am but fire crews remained at the scene as the extent of the damaged was surveyed.
Local residents, unaware of the blaze, turned up this morning to find the road cordoned off and shops in the same block as the flats closed until further notice.
They are a Nisa Local, The Three Little Bakers, Utopia Café and the Wee Fabric Shop.
One local resident, who was shocked to hear about the fire, had been awoken in the early hours by the sound of a dog barking and became aware of blue lights flashing and ambulances nearby but knew nothing further.
