Police appeal for information after tree is set fire close to housing at Mannachie Rise, Forres
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
POLICE are appealing for information after a fire in woods close to a residential area in Forres.
The incident occurred between 7pm on Wednesday, April 19 and 7am on Thursday, April 20, in Mannachie Woods, behind Mannachie Rise.
A neighbour alerted the emergency services.
He said: "I looked out from a bedroom window and saw smoke by a tree so I checked it out. It was smouldering about four feet up the trunk from the ground so I doused it with a few water containers and put it out.
"It was lucky it wasn't breezy through the night as the tree would've fallen down."
The trunk was so badly burned that that the tree had to be taken down safely. The area was cordoned off to the public while the work was carried out.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed they were alerted at 7.15am on Thursday to reports of a fire in the open in Forres.
A spokesperson said: "Operations Control mobilised one fire appliance to Mannachie Woods, where firefighters extinguished a fire which had taken hold of a tree.
"Crews thereafter left the scene."
If anyone has any information regarding this incident, please call 101, quoting reference number PS-20230420-0633.
