A field in an Ayrshire village is burning with a lava-like substance flowing underneath with the public told to 'stay away'.
The field in Patna in East Ayrshire has been declared a ‘serious risk to life’ by a worried dad who captured the smouldering soil this week.
Despite temperatures plummeting to below freezing in January, the field continues to burn with smoke pouring out from beneath the scorched ground.
Council chiefs say the grassy mound which on land owned by Forestry Land Scotland is burning away due to a disused coal mine beneath the site.
But Tam Paton claims the the area has been burning for more than three years and has sparked calls for action to put the fires out.
The 30-year-old says mass parts of the area have 'fallen away' and 'turned to dust' due to the searing heat.
Shocking footage has shown smoke pouring out from the field which is just a 10-minute walk away from the village centre.
Red-hot pockets of a substance described like lava can be seen in pictures and videos taken by Tam.
Tam told Ayrshire Live: “It’s been burning solid for the best part of three-and-a-half years.
“It doesn’t matter how cold it gets, when we have snow it just melts away instantly.
“It becomes worse in the summer months. The smell is potent. You can smell the ground burning the minute you get near the field.
“Bits of it have all turned to dust and fallen away.
“It is over a vast area, about the size of a football pitch and it's only getting bigger."
Tam worries that the deadly field will lead to a tragedy one day.
The dad claims that the Scottish Coal Board have tried to fence off the danger zone.
He added: “If you were to fall into that there would be nothing left of you.
“It’s a real danger particularly with it being a popular spot for dog walkers and a lot of the kids like to go up that way at the weekend.
“It would just take one wrong move and it would be a disaster.
"There is only two poles and a wee wire fence, it is definitely not enough protection from an area so dangerous."
A spokesperson for East Ayrshire Council said: "East Ayrshire Council was first made aware of this issue last summer and since then has continued to engage with both the landowner, (FLS) , and the Coal Authority as the relevant regulatory body for such issues arising from former coal mining works, in order to ensure that the situation continues to be managed and to minimise any risk to public health and safety .
"In that regard the council is aware that appropriate safety measures were put in place, including fencing around the affected area, but unfortunately that has since been removed by unknown parties, which clearly isn’t helpful.
"The council will continue to engage with the relevant parties to ensure they fulfil their respective obligations, and in the meantime would advise members of the public to avoid the affected area and also ask them not to interfere with any safety measures which are, or might be put, in place for their own protection."
Ayrshire Live has contacted the UK coal mining community response team and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for comment.
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