Woman fighting for life after ‘clothes catch fire’ on street in Edinburgh

Woman fighting for life after ‘clothes catch fire’ on street in Edinburgh A video online appeared to show the woman trying to escape the flames on the pavement as passers-by helped her - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments A woman is fighting for her life after an incident in which her clothes appeared to catch fire on a street in Edinburgh. The woman was seriously injured in the incident outside flats in St Leonard’s Street on Monday afternoon. A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Around 12.10pm on Monday, June 22, police were called to a report of a seriously injured woman outside flats on St Leonards Street, Edinburgh. “The woman was taken by ambulance to hospital where medical staff describe her condition as critical. “There do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances. Inquiries are ongoing.” A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 12.10pm on Monday, June 22 to an incident near to Bowmont Place, Edinburgh. “Operations Control mobilised two fire appliances to the scene and crews left at around 1.07pm.” A video of the incident has been circulated online, appearing to show the woman trying to escape the flames on the pavement as passers-by attempt to help her. The incident happened as the UK’s hottest June day on record was confirmed, with a provisional temperature of 35.7C breaking the previous record from the summer of 1976. The new high on Wednesday afternoon in Charlwood, Surrey beat the previous top temperature of 35.6C in 1976 and 1957, the Met Office said. Much of England and Wales swelters in exceptionally hot and humid conditions, which have prompted a rare red warning from the Met Office for extreme heat. The heatwave, which has led to health warnings, school closures and transport disruption, is driven by a “heat-dome” settling over western Europe that has brought extreme conditions across the continent. The 50-year-old record has fallen as climate change, mostly the result of burning fossil fuels, is driving increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, which experts say the UK is not prepared for. Britain’s electricity grid operator has cancelled an industry warning that the UK’s power supply could have been squeezed amid pressure from the heatwave. Late on Tuesday, the National Energy System Operator (Neso) had issued a rare summer call-out for more power on Wednesday evening in the face of concerns over record-breaking temperatures. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments