Edinburgh's George IV Bridge fire: Disruption after Old Town blaze

One person has been taken to hospital as fire crews tackled a large blaze which broke out at Edinburgh's George IV Bridge.

Police Scotland closed several roads in the city's Old Town on Tuesday morning.

The alarm was raised shortly after 6am by a cleaner at Edinburgh's Elephant House cafe - where JK Rowling wrote sections of her Harry Potter books.

It is believed the fire started in the Patisserie Valerie cafe next door.

The Central Library, which is on the street, will remain closed for the rest of the day.

Elephant House owner David Taylor, said the fire had not spread to the building, but it had suffered smoke and water damage.

He told BBC Scotland: "I feel absolutely gutted about this.

"At best, we can hope for opening in a few weeks time, but if there is structural damage too then it isn't bearable to think about."

The cafe, which is popular with tourists and Harry Potter fans, had been returning to normal trading after Scotland recently lifted Covid restrictions.

Mr Taylor added, "It's really quite disturbing because we had just got back to some semblance of normality after two years, although we were only running at about 50% of our festival trade."

Nine fire engines and two specialist ladder vehicles were dispatched to the scene on Tuesday morning. The Scottish Ambulance Service was also in attendance.

Rented flats above Patisserie Valerie were evacuated and Candlemaker Row and Chambers Street were closed.

The Oz Bar on Candlemaker Row, below Patisserie Valerie, also suffered water damage.

Owner Tom Ponton said: "We have just refurbished the whole pub and we were back to doing very well again after two years, it's devastating.

"We have been told we have water damage in the bar but we don't know to what extent."

Lothian said all buses that travel along George IV have been diverted, including the 23 and the 27.

Sightseeing bus tours are also being diverted.

Adam McVey, City of Edinburgh Council's leader said the local authority was working closely with the fire service and police.

He said: "The road is likely to be closed for sometime and the central library closed for the remainder of day while officers work. Thoughts with everyone involved."

The cordon around the George IV Bridge site meant prisoners taken to nearby Edinburgh Sheriff Court were required to use the front entrance on Tuesday morning.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said the blaze had affected "a number of properties".

A spokesman said: "Operations control mobilised nine appliances and two height vehicles. Crews are still in attendance."

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We received a call at 06:39 on Tuesday to attend an incident at George IV Bridge in Edinburgh with our first resource arriving on scene at 06:46.

"We dispatched two ambulances, one paramedic response unit and our special operations team to the scene.

"We transported one patient to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary."