An Angus man has been hailed a hero after saving a national gardening show from a fire disaster.
Visitors to Gardening Scotland turned up blissfully unaware that quick-thinking Steve Burke had earlier put out a marquee fire which contained gas cylinders.
Steve’s actions were praised by the organisers and firefighters and ensured disaster did not strike the annual gardening show at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh.
The show, far from uneventful, finished with Steve’s award-winning company walking away with a silver medal after creating a garden in just a week.
The silver-gilt medal was the highest level awarded to any of the showgardens in the event which attracted around 400 exhibitors and more than 40,000 gardening enthusiasts.
Steve and his wife Nicky’s company Rococo Plants and Gardens of Carnoustie won a gold last year and have never had anything less than silver.
Nicky told The Courier: “It was not exactly an uneventful show Steve had to put out a fire and call the fire brigade one night, while working late during the build up as someone had put a disposable barbecue in a bin next to a marquee.
“Luckily, only one marquee caught fire, although it was the one that contained gas canisters.
“If it hadn’t been for Steve’s quick action all the marquees could have been up in flames and the show would have been cancelled.
“It happened at about 10pm and Steve was the only one left on the whole site and he smelt burning but thought it was maybe from the airport nearby.
“He then noticed flames appearing from a bin placed next to a marquee. The marquee had caught fire and was full of smoke.
“Steve entered the marquee to try and push the bin away but it was too smokey, so he quickly ran to the tap and filled a bucket, managing to extinguish the fire before too much damage was done.
“The burnt marquee was next to one of the main marquees, meaning if it had caught fire, the large marquee would have burnt to the ground.
“Thankfully, Steve was there and managed to prevent the fire spreading. He called the fire brigade and was praised by them.
“The organisers were very grateful and the visitors to the show were blissfully unaware of the events that had unfolded the night before.”