Man badly injured in garage blast

One man was seriously hurt in the blaze on the industrial estate

A man has been taken to a burns unit with serious injuries following an explosion on an industrial estate.

More than 40 firefighters tackled the blaze at a garage on the Catherinefield estate in Heathhall near Dumfries on Saturday at about 1730 BST.

The man was believed to have been in the garage when an explosion happened, wrecking the building.

He was taken to Dumfries Infirmary and later transferred to St John's Hospital in Livingston for treatment.

Despite the efforts of firefighters the blaze spread to neighbouring buildings on the industrial estate.

Explosion danger

A 200m exclusion zone was set up and people in the nearby housing estate were warned to keep their doors and windows shut because of thick smoke.

Firefighters brought in an aerial ladder to help in the fight to bring the blaze under control as there was also the risk of explosions because of the suspected presence of gas cylinders in the building.

The cost of repairing the damage is expected to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the incident.