A FIRE that engulfed 300 tonnes of waste at a landfill site near Dunbar yesterday was still being tackled by firefighters as The National went to press last night.

Fire crews have been battling to put out the fire which began in the early hours of the morning.

At one stage some 40 firefighters were involved in the operation, but a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman told The National that the numbers had been reduced to two crews.

He added: “We expect they will be on site for most of the night.”

A huge plume of

smoke rose high above the East Lothian location and was clearly visble to drivers on the nearby A1 main road.

A spokesperson for site owners Viridor said: “A fire was reported at Viridor’s Dunbar Landfill site early this morning.

“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service currently has six fire crews on site dealing with the fire in a building where waste arriving on site is stored before it is landfilled.

“No one has been injured and there is no risk to public health.

“The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has been notified.

“The site remains closed to allow the fire service to complete its work.

“Viridor confirms that the separate energy recovery facility at Dunbar is unaffected.”