Elderly man died in fire in Crossford home

It was shortly before 1pm that residents in the Forrest Lane flats off the village’s main road, the A72, reported the blaze to Scottish Fire and Rescue.

Three fire appliances rushed to the scene and the body of the man, who is not being named by the emergency services, was discovered within the flat.

At time of going to press this week the incident was still being investigated and the cause of the fire and the exact cause of the man’s death was still to be fully established.

However, The Gazette understands that there were no suspicious circumstances and the blaze is being treated as an accident.

No other persons were injured in the incident and the blaze was contained to the victim’s flat.

The fire caused the closure of the A72 Clyde Valley road for the remainder of the afternoon with it reopening in the early evening.