The UK Government has offered military support to help tackle the ongoing wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park, including the use of Chinook helicopters and Army personnel if requested by the Scottish Government.

The offer follows a request for assistance made by the Scottish Government on Saturday as emergency services continue battling the wildfire, which has been burning for nearly two weeks.

The Secretary of State for Scotland, Douglas Alexander, said he had been working with the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Secretary to identify what support could be made available.

The package includes Chinook helicopters to provide heavy lifting and logistical support, enhanced liaison teams to strengthen tactical coordination and personnel from UK standby battalions if additional resources are required on the ground.

The assistance would be available alongside existing mutual aid arrangements between fire and rescue services across the UK.

Douglas Alexander said:

“The last 12 days have been extremely challenging for the teams on the ground tackling the wildfire and for those who live and have livelihoods in the area.

“Scottish Fire and Rescue services and the local community have committed exceptional efforts to trying to get the fire under control and they deserve a wealth of praise and thanks.

“Since receiving the request for assistance from the Scottish Government, I have worked at speed with the Defence Secretary to establish the resources we can deploy to support the efforts in the Cairngorms.”

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said:

“My thoughts are with those who have been affected by the terrible wildfires in the Cairngorms and I pay tribute to the brave emergency services personnel who have been working tirelessly to tackle the blaze.

“Our Armed Forces are always ready and able to respond to serious situations and Chinook helicopters can be available to provide heavy lifting capacity, which may be needed given the landscape, and we have UK standby battalion personnel ready to deploy to provide additional numbers on the ground to help bring the wildfire under control.

“The Ministry of Defence is ready to support in any way we can and we are working closely with teams on the ground.”

Emergency services continue to make progress against the wildfire, but the major incident remains in place and residents are still being urged to avoid affected areas while firefighting operations continue.