People living in Edinburgh feared their had been an explosion after a large "boom" echoed out across Leith today. 

Residents took to social media to report the sound of a blast which shook walls and windows, leading to speculation there had been an explosion at an industrial facility near the docks. 

One person wrote on Twitter: “What the hell was that huge bang in Leith? Our flat fully shook.” In the comments of that post, people said they “felt the shock wave before I heard it” and that it may have come from the docks.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) confirmed it had briefly attended a fire in a piece of machinery in Salamander Street, near the waterfront. 

One Reddit user reported: "That felt like a proper explosion - there was a pressure wave that shook the windows before the sound arrived."

Another posted: "I happened to be next door at the time. Sounded like some kind of explosion at the scrapyard. Fire trucks arrived but left shortly afterwards, so guess all was ok!

An SFRS spokeswoman said: "There was a call at 11.27am to Salamander Street but we've been and gone from the incident. It was a small fire in a metal crushing machine.

"Two crews and up to ten firefighters from McDonald Road were dispatched and left the scene at 11.35am."

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