Acrid black smoke sent curious residents scurrying to the lower Cornhill Street area to witness a heap of car tyres going up in smoke.

It is not clear how the fire started but it is thought that the surrounding dry veld area had earlier caught alight and spread to where the old tyres had been piled up.

Several buildings adjacent to the heap of tyres were also under threat of the fire that was fanned by an occasional burst of wind.  Fire -fighters stopped the fire from spreading but armed only with what looked like a little more than garden hoses they had no chance of putting out the fierce tyre fire.

However, they did manage to prevent the fire from spreading.  But the witnesses did take the opportunity to whip out their phones and take photos of the unfolding drama