SERVICES at a crematorium have been cancelled after a fire broke out on the premises.

Around 35 firefighters from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service tackled the blaze in the roof at the Mortonhall Crematorium, Edinburgh.

No-one was injured in the fire which happened around 7pm on Tuesday.

Fire and Rescue Service crews worked through the night at the site.

Services at Mortonhall have been cancelled for the rest of the week and those affected contacted.

A spokeswoman for Edinburgh City Council, which runs the facility, said: "A fire occurred at Mortonhall Crematorium on Tuesday evening and was brought under control by the Fire and Rescue Service. This happened after the crematorium had closed and there were no staff in the building.

"A full investigation of the area is now under way to assess damage and take measures to ensure that the site is safe.

"Unfortunately this will means all services this week will be postponed.

"We are in contact with those affected."

A spokeswoman for the Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews were faced with a significant fire in the roof space of one of the facility's buildings and worked hard over a number of hours in challenging conditions to bring it under control."

"City of Edinburgh Council have been on-scene throughout the incident and continue to assist the fire service with managing the incident.

"The council are currently assessing the impact of the fire on the regular operations of the site and any concerned members of the public should contact them directly for further information."

The news comes just weeks after former policeman Robert Swanson was appointed as Scotland's first inspector of crematoria in the wake of the baby ashes scandal that centred on Mortonhall.

Mr Swanson was appointed by the Scottish Government in the latest step towards implementing the recommendations of Lord Bonomy's Infant Cremation Commission.

The commission was established to look at infant cremation in Scotland after it emerged that Mortonhall had secretly buried the ashes of babies for decades without the knowledge of their families.

Other local authorities including Aberdeen City Council were subsequently implicated.