Landfill site workers 'climbed locked gate to escape blaze'

Staff at a Fife landfill site had to climb a locked gate to escape a major blaze, a union has claimed. The fire broke out at the Ladybank facility on Tuesday afternoon and is still burning three days later. The Unite union described the incident as "bizarre and concerning." Site operator Cireco Scotland said the claim was "speculation" and said a full investigation into the blaze would be carried out. About 30 firefighters, four fire appliances and a height appliance remain at the scene. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said it expected to remain at the scene for the next two to three days. Unite regional officer Bob McGregor said: "I've spoken to one of the people that it happened to and they were told to exit in a certain way. "When they got there, the gate was locked with a combination lock so they had to scale the gate to get out. "There was a lot of smoke so they didn't want to go back, because that was their escape route. "I'm very concerned that people were being sent to an exit to flee a fire and they can't exit that escape route. McGregor said union members were regularly raising health and safety concerns about landfill sites and "Ladybank in particular." He sa