Van crashes on main road as storm arrives

A VAN crash caused long queues on one of Tayside’s busiest roads today as Storm Doris arrived in the region.

Commuters heading for Dundee and beyond from the south were obstructed when a van overturned on the M90 near Perth.

The van landed on its side in the outside lane of the motorway just north of the Friarton Bridge at around 7.10am. Nobody was injured.

Tailbacks were reported along the length of the bridge and the road was reduced to a single lane. Police confirmed that they had gone to the scene.

An eyewitness told the Tele: “There’s an overturned van in the outside lane of the motorway. The traffic is moving very slowly past.

“The weather here is very sleety rain, and there was one cop car, a wee bit away from where I was.”

There were further problems in the Perth area as the weather posed issues for public transport.

Stagecoach East Scotland said several services were being delayed and one vehicle had even become stuck due to the wintry blast.

The operator said on Twitter: “All Perth services are struggling due to the weather conditions, and drivers are doing their best in these challenging conditions.”

Eight different services were delayed as the city’s Glasgow Road was at a “standstill”.

In Dundee, the Tay Road Bridge closed to double decker buses and imposed a 30mph speed limit shortly before 7am as conditions worsened.

Bus firm Xplore Dundee said that its services were unaffected, but warned that delays would likely occur if the weather worsened.

Storm Doris reached speeds of nearly 90mph as it arrived across the country.

The Met Office issued an amber weather warning across Scotland’s central belt, Tayside, Fife, the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway, and a yellow warning for snow was in place until 6pm.

A forecaster said: “Whilst the strongest winds look to be only short-lived, damage to structures, interruptions to power supplies and widespread disruption to travel networks are likely, with a danger of injury from flying debris.”

Motoring organisation the AA warned drivers to take care.

Spokesman John Snowling said: “The combination of torrential rain, severe gales and heavy snow will create some very poor driving conditions, with the potential for roads to be affected by black ice, debris or standing water.

“Wind can also bring down tree branches, blow you off course or blow other vehicles into your path.”

The white van landed on its side after it crashed on the M90 just north of the Friarton Bridge today.