A volcano on Japan’s western major island of Kyushu has erupted with the alert level raised to 5 – the highest.

Sakurajima erupted at around 8.05pm local time (12.05pm BST) on Sunday, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said.

There were no reports of any damage but volcanic stones could be seen raining down up to 1.5 miles away from the site, according to public television channel NHK.

The eruption alert level has been raised to 5, the highest, with some areas advised to evacuate, local media added.

Video footage from the scene shows red lava flowing down one side of the summit, with more shooting out from the top.

The nearest residential area – the city of Kagoshima – is across the bay from the volcano and around two miles away – but people may still be ordered to evacuate there.

Sakurajima is one of Japan’s most active volcanoes and eruptions of varying levels are frequent. In 2019 it spewed ash 3.4 miles (5.5 km) high.

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