Fire crews are working to make safe a former Lanarkshire hospital building destroyed by a major blaze.

Fire fighters were said to still be battling the flames at Hartwood Hospital, near Shotts, this morning - 16 hours after it took hold.

A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said the fire has now been extinguished but the building has suffered "considerable damage".

Crews were called to the site of the old Hartwood Hospital, near Shotts, North Lanarkshire, at around 4.30pm yesterday.

Seven fire engines attended scene but were initially unable to enter the derelict building due to safety concerns.

The SFRS spokesman said: "Crews remain in attendance at a derelict building fire at the site of the former Hartwood Hospital near Shotts after a fire broke out in the main block yesterday.

"Our operations control centre received an emergency call at 4.34pm and had firefighters on the scene within 17 minutes.

"Seven appliances were mobilised in total.

"Firefighters arrived to find a well-developed fire within a large derelict building.

"Due to the unsafe condition of the building, crews were unable to conduct internal firefighting operations and proceeded to conduct external firefighting using an aerial rescue pump and main jets.

"The fire involved the whole of the roof space and resulted in considerable damage to the derelict building.

"The fire has now been brought under control but operations continue, along with Police Scotland and North Lanarkshire Council representatives, to make the building safe."

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

There are no reports of injuries.

The former psychiatric hospital closed in the late 1990s.