Striking firefighters in West Lothian deserted their picket line to tackle a chip pan fire in Armadale.

They arrived at the scene at the same time as a Red Goddess with a military crew.

An army press officer said the striking firefighters had been left to attend to the blaze.

No-one was injured in the incident at the smoke-filled house which had started in the kitchen.

Military firefighters had 20 call-outs

Major Peter Mabbett of the King's Own Scottish Borderers said: "As they have priority we let them deal with it. They have extinguished it and returned to their picket line.

"We have kept a Red Goddess on the scene to clear up and make sure the fire does not re-start."

The military had just 20 call-outs to respond to between midnight and 0600 GMT Tuesday.

One of the alerts was a hoax call.

Four elderly people were treated in hospital for the effects of smoke after being rescued from a six-storey block of flats.

The fire broke out in the block in Possil, Glasgow, at 0415 GMT.

In Angus, crews worked through the night to tackle a blaze which destroyed a farm cottage near Arbroath.

The military were called to the scene by police officers who responded to an intruder alarm which was triggered by the fire.

A Red Goddess and Green Goddess were dispatched to the scene, but could not prevent the building being engulfed.

The householders, who had spent the weekend away from home, returned to find Dickmountlaw Farm Cottage already ablaze.