Firefighters’ working at the scene of the devastating nursing home blaze, which claimed the lives of 10 elderly people, were left “extremely distraught” by today’s tragedy, the Fire Brigades Union said.

A fire that killed 10 elderly nursing home residents in Scotland today is believed to have started in a storage cupboard, investigators said.

Billowing smoke from a relatively small fire seems to have been the main cause of death in a fire at a Scottish nursing home, where 11 patients died this morning.