Campers rescued from 'terrifying' Scottish wildfire

Two fathers and their sons have spoken of the "terrifying" moment they were airlifted to safety from a hillside wildfire during a camping trip in Scotland.

Friends Bruce Marbrow and Scott Rayner, both from Beverley in East Yorkshire, took their teenage sons on a fishing trip to the Glen Trool area of Galloway Forest Park, in Dumfries and Galloway, on Friday when a fire broke out on the first night.

Mr Rayner described the moment they were rescued by a helicopter as "pretty terrifying and surreal" because they could feel the heat from the 6ft 6in (2m) high flames as the fire spread to their camp.

Crews are still tackling wildfires in parts of Scotland which have been burning since the weekend.

Not long after arriving at the site to set up camp, the campers spotted smoke rising behind a hill in the distance but thought it was the controlled burning of heather, not realising the flames were from a wildfire.

Mr Marbrow said they saw several "glowing patches of grass in the distance" later on and by 23:00 BST, the fire was spreading. But they decided to "stay put" thinking they would be safe.

However, two hours later, the blaze had swept towards them leaving the campers perched on a rock trying to work out what to do to stay safe, he said.

Mr Rayner said seeing the orange sky was "frightening".

They were rescued at about 04:00 on Saturday by the HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter.

Mr Marbrow said police had spotted his car in the forest car park and had contacted his wife, who notified them of the group's "pinpoint location".

After they were airlifted, Mr Rayner's 13-year-old son Frankie said: "It felt surreal."

He said he was relieved when he saw the helicopter and had no plans of going on another adventure anytime soon.

Mr Marbrow's son, Jack, also 13, said: "At the time I assumed we were alright. Dad was telling us we'd be fine because there was a stream and loch between us and the fire."

While thanking everyone involved in the rescue effort, Mr Rayner added: "It makes you realise the power of nature."

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