FIREFIGHTERS battled to save a historic building with links to Robert Burns after a wall partially collapsed following heavy rain.

Crews were called to the Robert Burns Heritage Trust building in Mauchline, Ayrshire, yesterday to help shore up the damaged wall of the Category B-listed Poosie Nansie’s Inn.

A spokesman said one end of the building had been damaged and 25 firefighters were deployed in an effort to prevent further collapse.

Teams from Mauchline, Kilmarnock and Cumnock were called out, as well as a heavy rescue vehicle from Easterhouse, Glasgow, and a major incident unit from Clydebank.

The area around the building, in the town’s Louden Street, was cordoned off while the operation was under way.

Scotland’s national poet lived and worked in Mauchline between 1784 and 1788.

The house he shared with Jean Armour is now a museum in nearby Castle Street.