The historic hotel in the centre of Linlithgow was destroyed by a fire this morning.

It appears it was caused by a faulty heater in a laundry room, but the fire spread quickly from there and huge flames were seen rising from the top.  Despite the best efforts of the firemen, the roof collapsed and it will take a momentus effort to restore the building to its former glory.

The fire caused massive travel problems in the historic West Lothian town with roads blocked most of the day, and the nearby train station closed until 12:30