Brechin or Brecon? geographical mix-up for embarrassed fire service staff

Fire staff in Glasgow have been left red-faced after confusing Brechin in Angus for Brecon in Wales, more than 400 miles away.

A press release from the Scottish Fire and Rescue service claimed that a fire appliance from Brecon was sent to a blaze in Montrose in the early hours of Monday morning.

In fact, it was a fire engine from Brechin that was sent to the house fire in India Street.

A spokeswoman for Fire Scotland said the mistake was due to the fact that fire staff in Glasgow were now issuing press releases for the Tayside area since the switch to a single Scottish force.

She said: “Press releases are done by a central point in Glasgow now and I’ll draw that mistake to their attention.”

Emergency services were called to Montrose at 4.15am on Monday after the alarm was raised by a neighbour.

On arrival the firefighters forced entry to the property.

A female occupant was rescued from the building and paramedics from the Scottish Ambulance Service carried out precautionary checks at the scene.

This is by no means the first time that Brechin and Brecon have been confused.

In 1995, Camelot sent lottery equipment to Angus that had been meant for the Welsh town.