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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Claire Galloway & Graeme Murray

Dramatic pictures show UK's 'Anthrax Island' go up in flames amid huge blaze

Dramatic pictures have shown the UK's 'Anthrax Island' go up in flames amid a huge blaze.

Gruinard Island was reduced to ashes after the fire took hold on Saturday night.

People were astonished to witness the flames and smoke billowing into the atmosphere after the blaze took over the island in Wester Ross, Scotland.

They took to social media to tell of the devastation which was seen from the Hebridean isles the Daily Record reports.

One person saw the wrote: "Gruinard Island ablaze, reports of seeing fire from Lewis."

Another poster added: "Very sad seeing Gruinard Island in flames but even sadder hearing the haunting screeching of the oyster catchers and geese."

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said they were not aware of the wildfire until Sunday morning.

And crews did not respond because there are no inhabitants on the island.

The island in Wester Ross, known to many as 'Anthrax Island', was contaminated during World War 2 after it became a testing site for biological weapons.

Sheep were exposed to deadly bombs packed with anthrax on the island, which killed the livestock within days.

Gruinard in November 2001 (Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

When inhaled, anthrax spores can damage the lungs and is often fatal.

Direct contact with anthrax can also cause raised boil-like lesions on the skin.

Gruinard was a no-go zone until it was declared safe by the UK Government in 1990 following a major clean-up operation in 1986.

The British Army tested anthrax on the Island off the Scottish coast during World War II.

Bacillus bacteria are responsible for anthrax, tetanus, botulism and tuberculosis (Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)

It led to spores of the infectious disease still being considered deadly decades later.

Anthrax symptoms include fever, chills, and extreme fatigue, but the body's own defences can trigger deadly sepsis.

The test was one of several Cold War incidents where animals were cruelly exposed to potentially genocidal weapons.

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