Fire has gutted the former boat house on a Loch Lomond island owned by radio presenter Kirsty Young and her husband.
A blaze broke out at Inchconnachan Island on Saturday (May 28) evening, with fire crews and the Loch Lomond Rescue Boat scrambling to the scene to bring the inferno under control.
Dramatic footage from the scene shows flames tearing through the colonial-style timber bungalow, which was built in the 1920s and due to be demolished as part of plans to transform the island into an eco retreat.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “We were alerted at 8.10pm on Saturday, May 28 to reports of a derelict building on fire.
“Operations control mobilised three appliances to Inchconnachan Island, where crews extinguished the fire and made the area safe before leaving the scene."
Last year we told how former Desert Island Discs presenter Young and her husband Nick Jones, who runs the £1.4bn Soho House empire, bought Inchconnachan Island, which is also known as Wallaby Island for a fee reported to be around £1.5m.
They pledged to transform it into “a beautiful place for everyone to enjoy” and lodged plans with Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park for a three-bedroom lodge and new boathouse.
However, the couple faced fierce opposition amid fears wallabies, that have called Inchconnachan home since being introduced, would be removed from the island.
An online petition started by marine science student Craig Morrison has received almost 100,000 signatures, however the couple denied plans to remove them from the Loch Lomond island.
He said: “The wallabies have great historic, social and cultural significance, they are adored by locals and tourists alike, with many boat trips in the area having the chance of seeing the wallabies as their star attraction.”
The island had been owned by the Colquhoun family since the 14th century but no one has lived there since daredevil aristocrat Fiona Gore, Countess of Arran and champion powerboat racer, left two decades ago.
Lady Arran of Colquhoun introduced red-neck wallabies to the area in the 1940s.
The island’s habitat is very similar to their native Tasmania and, by 1993, there were an estimated 125 living on Inchconnachan.
Young and Jones initially said they planned to build accommodation for a warden to live on the island to guard against anti-social behaviour, however the proposal was abandoned after criticism from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, which objected over flood risks.
The couple said that the full-time employee would instead travel daily to the island, with the boathouse plans being amended to accommodate visitors and an office.
