Police closed the road surrounding Arthur's Seat as firefighters tackled the fire

Fire crews have spent the night battling a large blaze on Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh.

A huge plume of white smoke could be seen from as far away as Fife after the fire broke out below Salisbury Crags at about 18:40 on Sunday.

Six appliances were in attendance, with firefighters seen dousing the flames.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said there were "no reported casualties" and Police Scotland has closed Queens Drive, the road that encircles the Holyrood Park hills, to all vehicles.

This video can not be played

Fire crews tackle blaze on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh

Jon Henderson, SFRS assistant chief officer, said the service had dealt with a number of incidents over the course of the weekend, including wildfires.

"We've had crews at Arthur's Seat since about 15:00 on Sunday afternoon and then overnight," he told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast.

"At first light we stepped up that response again when the conditions were favourable for that.

"The feeling from the ground there is that we will probably be there for a couple of days continuing to tackle it and dampen out hotspots."

Henderson said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the fire.

"Our focus at the moment is dealing with the fire and the response but there will be a full fire investigation," he said.

"The difficult we have with wildfires is that they can be difficult to assess where they started because of the scale and sometimes these do happen naturally."

Crews responded to the Arthur's Seat fire on Sunday evening

Six appliances were at the scene of the hill fire

The fire could be seen by residents in Edinburgh

The area was closed down to public access following the start of the fire

1 of 4

It is the latest wildfire call out for the Scottish fire service during the recent stretch of warm, dry weather.

Hundreds of firefighters, two helicopters and specialist resources were sent to the Cairngorms National Park where a blaze has been ongoing for four days.

Six square kilometres of land had been affected resulting in homes and businesses, including campsites and a ski resort in the Glenmore Forest Park area, being evacuated as a safety precaution.

A high volume pump has been used to draw water from Loch Morlich to support firefighting efforts.

On Sunday, fire crews said the fire was now "surrounded" and police began escorting residents and campers back to properties and campsites to collect personal belongings.

Henderson said resources remain on site but "significant progress" has been made.

"The activity over the rest of the day is to maintain a four kilometre long fire break and to search out and extinguish hotspots," he added.

Your news, your pictures

Fire crews 'surround' large-scale Cairngorms wildfire