Moray commuters faced delays on the A96 outside Forres last night when fire broke out at a former chip shop.
Long tailbacks resulted in both directions at the height of the evening rush hour as three fire crews were called to tackle the blaze at the Bervie Chipper.
It is understood that the blaze was caused by an electrical fault in the building which is currently closed and up for sale. Two appliances from Forres and another called in from Elgin tackled the blaze while police halted traffic on the main Inverness to Aberdeen road, which was eventually reopened shortly after 5pm.
A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “Crews were called at 4.42pm – there were four sets of breathing apparatus used along with one hose-reel and one jet. The fire was brought under control at 5.09pm.”
Police confirmed that the road had to be closed for a short period of time as fire crews tackled the blaze.
A combined police and fire service investigation into the cause of the fire is now under way.