'Real concerns’ have been expressed about the damaging blaze at Clydeport coal terminal on Sunday.

The area’s MSP, Kenneth Gibson, made the comment in the aftermath of the spectacular fire which sent a huge cloud of smoke over the sea at Fairlie.

At the height of the fire, on a coal loader and conveyer system, flames could be seen shooting up from the machinery.

Ten fire engines rushed to the port, and a firefighting tug arrived in the early afternoon, several hours after the alarm had been raised.

Mr Gibson has welcomed Clydeport’s announcement that they are investigating the cause of the fire.

He said: “There has to be a full investigation as to the cause. It is a bit too early to speculate on what happened, but Clydeport will have to look at the safety measures put in place, and these have to be checked and double checked. Was it human error or system malfunction?

“To be fair to Clydeport, I think they are doing that - I don’t think anyone expected that on Sunday. There are a whole lot of safety measures implemented by Clydeport, and statute covers a lot of that, but it is quite worrying what actually happened.

Mr Gibson said it had been a difficult weekend for Clydeport with the announced closure of Longannet, which is a big customer of the terminal.

He added: “There will be a big impact on Clydeport if Longannet closes, although a new Longannet has got planning permission so that is not dead in the water yet.

“After the fire on Sunday, I think Clydeport are still analysing the extent to damage materially, and to their reputation. It is alarming for community and people who work there but it is too early to speculate other than to say it is a real concern.” A spokesperson for Clydeport said: "We are working closely with the relevant authorities to carry out a full investigation into the cause of the fire.

"The fire was extinguished on Sunday evening and there was no risk to neighbouring property.

"The priority at this moment in time is to secure the loader into a safe position so we can assess the damage.

"While shipping operations have been interrupted there has only been minimal impact to coal deliveries by rail and no impact to coal deliveries by road."