This is worse than a war zone..buildings were turned to dust

Aid worker on scale of devastation after earthquake

- JACKIE GRANT

SCOT SEES CATASTROPHE ON FRONTLINE

A SCOT spearheading the UK Government's humanitarian response to the Turkey and Syria earthquake says the devastation is worse than any war zone he's ever worked in.

Erlend Linklater has regularly faced danger in conflict-hit countries including Afghanistan, Colombia and Sudan during his career as an aid worker.

But the 48-year-old has told how the killer 7.8 magnitude earthquake earlier this year did more damage in 80 seconds than cities flattened by months of military bombing.

Selkirk-born Erlend - a Humanitarian Advisor with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: "I've worked in a lot of fragile conflict areas and what I've seen in some parts of Turkey looks like a war zone.