People are being urged to take care using disposable barbecues, as beauty spots are being blighted with fires.
A picnic table and benches were destroyed at the Silver Sands beach in Aberdour this week, in a fire started from a barbecue.
Heat from the hot coals caused the table to melt then burst into flames on Monday evening.
Nobody was injured but emergency services had to be sent to the Fife beauty spot.
It has led to warnings about how damaging fire can be to beaches and grass, as well as the obvious safety risks.
Jen Staveley, manager of Sands Café, which is just yards from where the fire broke out, urged people to make sure cooking kits and disposable barbecue are used properly.
She said: “Unfortunately, fires are quite a regular occurrence here during the summer months.
“Most fires are started because they are being lit and then placed on the picnic tables, which are made of recycled plastic.
“Many are also placed directly on the grass, which can cause the ground to catch fire.
“We’ve also had rubbish bins go on fire after disposable barbecues have been discarded.
“The still-hot embers can easily cause rubbish to ignite, causing obvious dangers.
“It’s spoiling our lovely beach and grass areas.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We received an alert to a fire in the open at Silver Sands beach in Aberdour at 6.42pm on Monday.
“A fire appliance from Burntisland station was despatched and on arrival found a picnic area alight.
“Crews used two hose reel jets to extinguish the blaze.”
Litter, vandalism and dirty camping
The issue is part of a wider problem of people damaging beauty spots in Tayside and Fife through fire, vandalism and dirty camping.
Jen added: “We urge all visitors to use the equipment properly, as well as maintaining that disposable barbecues are used sensibly and in the correct manner.
“It’s not a big ask for visitors to take their rubbish away with them or dispose of it correctly, which would save our early-morning staff having pick up litter.”
Aberdour’s Silver Sands is one of Fife’s most popular coastal areas, attracting thousands of visitors to the award-winning beach, picnic and play areas.
